Selective mortality and the anthropometric status of children in low- and middle-income countries

Harttgen, Kenneth; Lang, Stefan; Seiler, Johannes

doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2019.04.001

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A limitation of this study stems from the fact that anthropometry can only be collected on survivors. If there are gender-specific trends in mortality between periods studied, this will have an effect on trends in anthropometry (Alderman et al, 2011;Harttgen et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends and geographic variability in gender inequalities in child mortality and stunting in India, 2006–2016

Alderman

Nguyen

Tran³

et al. 2021

Maternal & Child Nutrition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gender disparities in child undernutrition and mortality in India have been a topic of interest for a long time, but little is known on trends or geographic variability in recent periods. We examined the degree to which historic patterns in gender disparities in child undernutrition and mortality in India have persisted given recent progress in health and nutrition. Using two nationally representative datasets from India

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends and geographic variability in gender inequalities in child mortality and stunting in India, 2006–2016

Alderman

Nguyen

Tran³

et al. 2021

Maternal & Child Nutrition

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In high mortality environments, selective mortality of shorter individuals may lead populations living with higher mortality and poverty to be taller. A recent analysis of this hypothesis across 37 countries suggests that selective mortality likely only contributes minimally to population differences in height‐for‐age among children (Harttgen, Lang, & Seiler, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling basal and accrued height‐for‐age for cross‐population comparisons

Hackman

Hruschka

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: Current standards for comparing stunting across human populations assume a universal model of child growth. Such comparisons ignore population differences that are independent of deprivation and health outcomes. This article partitions variation in height-for-age that is specifically associated with deprivation and health outcomes to provide a basis for cross-population comparisons.Materials and Methods: Using a multilevel model with a sigmoid relationship of resources and growth, we partition variation in height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) from 1.5 million children across 70 countries into two components: (1) "accrued HAZ" shaped by environmental inputs (e.g., undernutrition, infectious disease, inadequate sanitation, poverty) and (2) a country-specific "basal HAZ" independent of such inputs. We validate these components against population-level infant mortality rates and assess how these basal differences may affect cross-population comparisons of stunting.Results: Basal HAZ differs reliably across countries (range of approximately 1.5 SD) and is independent of measures of infant mortality. By contrast, accrued HAZ captures stunting as impaired growth due to deprivation and is more closely associated with infant mortality than observed HAZ. Assessing stunting prevalence by accrued HAZ suggest that populations in West Africa and Haiti suffer much greater levels of stunting than indicated by observed HAZ.Discussion: Current universal standards may dramatically underestimate stunting in populations with taller basal HAZ. Relying on observed HAZ rather than accrued HAZ may also lead to inappropriate cross-population comparisons, such as concluding that Haitian children enjoy better conditions for growth than do Indian or Guatemalan children.

show abstract

Refugee camps – A lasting legacy? Evidence on long-term health impact

Nsababera

2020

Economics & Human Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper examines the long-term impact of refugee camps on the health of local residents in Tanzania. Taking height-forage z-score (HAZ) as a proxy for health, the paper exploits the fact that different birth cohorts were exposed to different stages of the camps' lifecycle. Temporal variation through birth cohorts is combined with geographic variation in a difference-indifference estimation approach. First, the paper examines the generation that were children at the opening of the camps and are now adults (as of 2012). It finds a negative and localised health effect that has persisted into adulthood. The result is comparable to a 2.9% to 5.9% reduction in adult hourly earnings. However, those that were exposed for a longer duration were less affected suggesting that subsequent economic development around camps mitigated the initial adverse effect. Second, this paper compares the subsequent generation that was born once the camps were already in operation, and those born after camps closed. It finds no observable difference in the HAZ score between those born during camps operation and in the post-camp period.

show abstract

Selective mortality and the anthropometric status of children in low- and middle-income countries

Cited by 6 publications

References 45 publications

Trends and geographic variability in gender inequalities in child mortality and stunting in India, 2006–2016

Trends and geographic variability in gender inequalities in child mortality and stunting in India, 2006–2016

Disentangling basal and accrued height‐for‐age for cross‐population comparisons

Refugee camps – A lasting legacy? Evidence on long-term health impact

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About