Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions
Background Indicators of child height, such as mean height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ), height-for-age difference (HAD) and stunting prevalence, do not account for differences in population-average bone developmental stage. Aim Propose a measure of child height that conveys the dependency of linear growt...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Annals of Human Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03014460.2022.2091794 |
| _version_ | 1797640976433414144 |
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| author | Liina Mansukoski Huma Qamar Nandita Perumal Ashley Aimone Diego G. Bassani Daniel E. Roth |
| author_facet | Liina Mansukoski Huma Qamar Nandita Perumal Ashley Aimone Diego G. Bassani Daniel E. Roth |
| author_sort | Liina Mansukoski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Indicators of child height, such as mean height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ), height-for-age difference (HAD) and stunting prevalence, do not account for differences in population-average bone developmental stage. Aim Propose a measure of child height that conveys the dependency of linear growth on stage rather than chronological age. Subjects and methods Using Demographic and Health Surveys (2000–2018; 64 countries), we generated: (1) predicted HAZ at specific ages (HAZ regressed on age); (2) height-age (age at which mean height matches the WHO Growth Standards median); (3) Growth delay (GD), the difference between chronological age and height-age; (4) HAD; and (5) stunting prevalence. Metrics were compared based on secular trends within countries and age-related trajectories within surveys. Results In the most recent surveys (N = 64), GDs ranged from 1.9 to 19.1 months at 60 months chronological age. Cross-sectionally, HAZ, HAD and GD were perfectly correlated, and showed similar secular trends. However, age-related trajectories differed across metrics. Accumulating GD with age demonstrated growth faltering as slower than expected growth for children of the same height-age. Resumption of growth at the median for height-age was rarely observed. Conclusion GD is a population-level measure of child health that reflects the role of delayed skeletal development in linear growth faltering. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:38:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f747716b7030463ab9d97d377037f7ae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0301-4460 1464-5033 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:38:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Human Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f747716b7030463ab9d97d377037f7ae2023-11-02T14:32:42ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAnnals of Human Biology0301-44601464-50332022-02-0149210010810.1080/03014460.2022.20917942091794Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributionsLiina Mansukoski0Huma Qamar1Nandita Perumal2Ashley Aimone3Diego G. Bassani4Daniel E. Roth5Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick ChildrenBackground Indicators of child height, such as mean height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ), height-for-age difference (HAD) and stunting prevalence, do not account for differences in population-average bone developmental stage. Aim Propose a measure of child height that conveys the dependency of linear growth on stage rather than chronological age. Subjects and methods Using Demographic and Health Surveys (2000–2018; 64 countries), we generated: (1) predicted HAZ at specific ages (HAZ regressed on age); (2) height-age (age at which mean height matches the WHO Growth Standards median); (3) Growth delay (GD), the difference between chronological age and height-age; (4) HAD; and (5) stunting prevalence. Metrics were compared based on secular trends within countries and age-related trajectories within surveys. Results In the most recent surveys (N = 64), GDs ranged from 1.9 to 19.1 months at 60 months chronological age. Cross-sectionally, HAZ, HAD and GD were perfectly correlated, and showed similar secular trends. However, age-related trajectories differed across metrics. Accumulating GD with age demonstrated growth faltering as slower than expected growth for children of the same height-age. Resumption of growth at the median for height-age was rarely observed. Conclusion GD is a population-level measure of child health that reflects the role of delayed skeletal development in linear growth faltering.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03014460.2022.2091794stuntinggrowth falteringheight-age |
| spellingShingle | Liina Mansukoski Huma Qamar Nandita Perumal Ashley Aimone Diego G. Bassani Daniel E. Roth Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions Annals of Human Biology stunting growth faltering height-age |
| title | Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions |
| title_full | Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions |
| title_fullStr | Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions |
| title_short | Growth delay: an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions |
| title_sort | growth delay an alternative measure of population health based on child height distributions |
| topic | stunting growth faltering height-age |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03014460.2022.2091794 |
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