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Growth of lowland native children of European Ancestry during sojourn at high altitude (3,200 m)
Author(s) -
Schutte James E.,
Lilljeqvist Ragnhild E.,
Johnson Robert L.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330610211
Subject(s) - demography , altitude (triangle) , overcrowding , cohort , effects of high altitude on humans , medicine , malnutrition , pediatrics , anthropometry , mathematics , geometry , sociology , economics , anatomy , economic growth
The moderate growth retardation frequently observed among children living at high altitude is usually assumed to result from hypoxic stress. However, such children are frequently from the poorer socioeconomic strata of their societies and may suffer malnutrition, poor hygiene, inadequate medical care, and overcrowding—factors also associated with growth retardation. The objective of this study was to determine if there is a statistically observable alteration in the growth of middle‐class children of European ancestry during sojourn at high altitude. Semilongitudinal height/weight measurements were gathered retrospectively from medical records of 18 boys and 17 girls who were born at low altitude, were well‐nourished and clinically normal, and who had lived at Achoma, Peru (altitude 3,200 m), continuously for 9–36 months. Measurements were divided, by sex, into four cohorts: I (3–6 months at Achoma), II (6–12 months), III (12–18 months), and IV (18–24 months); initial, presojourn, height and weight were also obtained. All heights and weights were normalized with age‐specific reference values. Changes in Z scores (ΔZ) during sojourn were calculated for each subject by subtracting the score of the presojourn value from those of cohorts I–IV. Paired t‐tests revealed, among the boys, a significant decline in Z score for weight during sojourn in all four cohorts. Weight scores for the girls also declined in all four cohorts, although only the change in cohort III was significant. Height scores showed a decline with time at sojourn in the boys, but in girls there is an initial drop followed by a steady increase to presojourn levels. These results are consistent with the view that moderate hypoxia exerts a primary growth‐limiting effect even on healthy, well‐nourished children.