Recent studies of the effects of socioeconomic stratification on stature and age at menarche in Poland are reviewed. The data are derived from a survey of conscripts in 1976, three nationwide growth surveys in 1955, 1966, and 1978, and several surveys of the timing of menarche. The data indicate a clear social gradient in stature during childhood, youth, and young adulthood, and in the age at menarche. Individuals from the larger urban centers and small families with college-educated fathers, on the average, tend to be the tallest and to mature earliest, while those from peasant (farmers) families are at the opposite extreme in size and maturity. Also, the data show marked secular trends towards increased stature and earlier maturation. The influence of social variables underlying the socioeconomic stratification, i.e., income, family size, education, occupational status, and urbanization, are discussed relative to their effects on growth and maturation of Polish children.Since the first surveys of the statures of children and military conscripts and of menarcheal age were undertaken in Western Europe in the first half of the 19th century, it has been recognized that growth data provide a good indicator of the degree of social and economic deficits suffered by the underprivileged strata in a society. Indeed, it was exactly the increasing awareness of such neglect, particularly the awareness of the dreadful condition of the working class in early 19th century Europe, that provided the main impulse for undertaking the first modern growth studies in the 1830s by Stanway, Horner, and Roberton in England, and by Villerme in France (Tanner, 1981).Although present-day industrial societies of Europe and United States are considerably different from those of 150 years ago, socioeconomic stratification is still reflected in the growth and maturation of children and youth in many such societies. Children from upper social strata, whether defined in terms of income, education, or occupational status, generally tend to be taller than their peers from lower strata at all ages, and tend to mature earlier and experience the adolescent growth spurt earlier (cf, Eveleth and Tanner, 1976). There are of course exceptions, for example, in Sweden (Lindgren, 1976(Lindgren, , 1981 and the United States (Hamill et al., 1972; MacMahon, 1973) social class differences in growth and maturation are negligible. Because the timing of the adolescent growth spurt generally varies by social class, social class differences in stature are greatest during adolescence. After adolescence, the differences are less, but usually do not disappear. A detailed analysis of the age-associated reduction of social class differences in the stature of Polish conscripts measured in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century was provided by Czekanowski (1930). The data also demonstrated marked statural differences between conscripts from gentry families and those of peasant stock, the former being significantly taller. ...
Variation in the body mass index (BMI) among occupationally active inhabitants of one Polish urban center was studied by means of a three-factor ANOVA. The material is cross-sectional and comprises 32,750 men and women aged 22-60 years, examined in five successive surveys between 1983-1999. The factors considered in each sex were: 1) age category, 2) year of examination, and 3) social class. The increase of BMI with age is markedly greater among women than among men. No sustained intergeneration trend towards increased BMI was detectable in either sex. The BMI means rise regularly with decreasing position on the social scale in both sexes, but this effect is much more dramatic in women. The latter finding suggests that the condition of being situated low on the social scale is conducive to growth of fatness with age, markedly more so in women than in men. The absence of a secular trend in BMI means during the period considered contrasts with results reported for a number of other countries. This finding is intriguing, because Poland underwent abrupt and profound socio-economic transformation in the early 1990s.
Mortality rates among adults 25–64 years of age (premature mortality) in 1988 and 1989 were compared by educational status (a four‐level scale) and marital status (married vs. nonmarried) in three Polish cities situated in ecologically different regions of Poland. Each of the two social factors has a significant influence on mortality after the effect of the other is controlled statistically. The risk of premature death increases regularly with an individual's decreasing position on the educational scale; also, the risk is higher among nonmarried than among married persons. This is true in all three urban populations, at all age levels considered, and in both genders. However, the effects of education and of marital status on premature mortality are more dramatic in males than in females. At middle age, the condition of having no spouse and of being poorly educated each expose males to a greater risk of premature mortality than females. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 11:397–403, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
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