Open Access
Climate anomalies and childhood growth in Peru
Author(s) -
Khristopher Nicholas,
Leah Campbell,
Emily Paul,
Gioia Skeltis,
Wenbo Wang,
Clark Gray
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
population and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1573-7810
pISSN - 0199-0039
DOI - 10.1007/s11111-021-00376-8
Subject(s) - indigenous , public health , stressor , psychological resilience , environmental health , life course approach , psychological intervention , geography , early childhood , climate change , socioeconomics , medicine , psychology , ecology , clinical psychology , social psychology , developmental psychology , nursing , psychiatry , sociology , psychotherapist , biology
Climate change has been linked to poor childhood growth and development through maternal stress, nutritional insults related to lean harvests, and exposure to infectious diseases. Vulnerable populations are often most susceptible to these stressors. This study tested whether susceptibility to linear growth faltering is higher among Peruvian children from indigenous, rural, low-education, and low-income households. High-resolution weather and household survey data from Demographic and Health Survey 1996-2012 were used to explore height-for-age z -scores (HAZ) at each year of life from 0 to 5. Rural, indigenous children at age 0-1 experience a HAZ reduction of 0.35 units associated with prenatal excess rainfall which is also observed at age 4-5. Urban, non-indigenous children at age 4-5 experience a HAZ increase of 0.07 units associated with postnatal excess rainfall, but this advantage is not seen among rural, indigenous children. These findings highlight the need to consider developmental stage and social predictors as key components in public health interventions targeting increased climate change resilience.