Height, weight, and lines of arrested growth in young Guatemalan children

Abstract

A cross-sectional study of height, weight and skeletal maturity as judged from radiographs of hand and wrist, of 1,412 children under seven years of age (694 boys and 718 girls) living in rural Guatemala was performed. Height and weight were compared to standards prepared by the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP). Skeletal age was assessed by the Tanner-Whitehouse and the Greulich and Pyle methods. All x-rays were read by the senior author.The children survcyed were significantly shorter and lighter than well nourished Guatemalan children. Differences were evident by age six months and at a maximum by age five years.Both methods showed skeletal age to lag behind chronological age so that the Guatemalan rural children mature at slower rates than either the British children or the Ohio, U. S. A., children, from whom the two sets of standards were developed.Children of both sexes with radio-opaque transverse lines at the metaphysis showed a consistent tendency to be shorter than children without such lines. Boys but not girls showed similar trends for weight.In general, the data are consistent with the view that the physical development in boys is more severely retarded by an adverse environment than that of girls.

Morbidity and growth of infants and young children in a rural Mexican village.

“…From age six months, however, the growth of Mexican children begins to fall below the 10th percentil the Denver sample and continues to fall further behind as t grow older. This pattern has been noted in other studies of growth of children in developing countries.5 8 The growth increments associated with high and low 12 comparisons were possible for each measurement and disease class. Table 2 shows the number of times the greater mean increment was found in the case of the high or the low disease sample.…”

“…While nutritional factors are most frequently seen as the primary agents, it is a common belief that frequent illness comprises another of the environmental agents retarding growth. [3][4][5][6][7][8] Animal studies suggest that illness can slow down growth. 9-'1 The exact relationship between growth and infection in children, however, remains uncertain.…”

Harris lines revisited: Prevalence, comorbidities, and possible etiologies

“…HLs were shorter in comparison to children with no HLs Blanco et al, 1974). There has been no study reporting a correlation between HLs and life expectancy using life tables.…”

“…Acheson, 1959;Blanco et al, 1974;Dreizen et al, 1956;Harris, 1933;Marshall, 1968;McHenry, 1968;Platt et al, 1963;Sontag and Comstock, 1938).…”

Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.

“…Malnutrition causes retardation of skeletal malformation. When there are periods of arrested growth caused by either disease or malnutrition, demarcation lines can be seen on X-ray films (32).…”