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Synthetic growth reference charts
Author(s) -
Hermanussen Michael,
Stec Karol,
Aßmann Christian,
Meigen Christof,
Van Buuren Stef
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.22759
Subject(s) - statistics , body mass index , set (abstract data type) , data set , principal component analysis , mathematics , reference values , population , body height , body weight , reference data , index (typography) , variance (accounting) , demography , computer science , data mining , medicine , business , accounting , pathology , sociology , world wide web , programming language
Objectives To reanalyze the between‐population variance in height, weight, and body mass index (BMI), and to provide a globally applicable technique for generating synthetic growth reference charts. Methods Using a baseline set of 196 female and 197 male growth studies published since 1831, common factors of height, weight, and BMI are extracted via Principal Components separately for height, weight, and BMI. Combining information from single growth studies and the common factors using in principle a Bayesian rationale allows for provision of completed reference charts. Results The suggested approach can be used for generating synthetic growth reference charts with LMS values for height, weight, and BMI, from birth to maturity, from any limited set of height and weight measurements of a given population. Conclusion Generating synthetic growth reference charts by incorporating information from a large set of reference growth studies seems suitable for populations with no autochthonous references at hand yet. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:98–111, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.