Related Experiment Videos
Height of conscripts in Europe: is postneonatal mortality a predictor?
I M Schmidt1, M H Jørgensen, K F Michaelsen
1Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Annals of Human Biology
|January 1, 1995
Summary
European conscript height trends show a plateau in northern countries but continued increases in southern Europe. Postneonatal mortality (PNM) predicts height trends, suggesting future growth in some regions.
Area of Science:
- Human Biology
- Anthropometry
- Public Health
Background:
- Secular trends indicate a steady increase in European conscript height over recent decades.
- Significant geographical disparities in adult height persist across Europe, with northern countries generally taller than southern ones.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the continuation of the secular height increase trend in European conscripts.
- To investigate the relationship between postneonatal mortality (PNM) and conscript height as indicators of early-life environmental factors.
Main Methods:
- Collected and analyzed conscript height data from 11 European countries.
- Utilized postneonatal mortality (PNM) rates as a proxy for adverse early-life environmental conditions (nutrition, infections).
- Correlated historical PNM trends with observed conscript height trends across different European regions.
Main Results:
- Height increase has plateaued in Scandinavian countries and The Netherlands since the 1980s.
- Height continues to increase in middle and southern European countries, with notable height differences between North (e.g., Netherlands, 181.2 cm) and South (e.g., Portugal, 170.3 cm) in 1990.
- A low and stable PNM level (3-5 per thousand) was reached approximately two decades before height increase stagnated in countries with plateaued trends.
Conclusions:
- The stabilization of conscript height increase correlates with achieving low postneonatal mortality levels.
- It is hypothesized that height increase will continue in other European countries until their PNM reaches similar low levels, with a projected lag of about two decades.