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5. GLOBAL GROWTH CHARTS: NEW CONCEPTS OF GENERATING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL REFERENCES FOR HEIGHT, WEIGHT, AND BMI FROM 0–18 YEARS

GLOBAL GROWTH CHARTS: NEW CONCEPTS OF GENERATING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL REFERENCES FOR HEIGHT, WEIGHT, AND BMI FROM 0–18 YEARS

Hermanussen Michael (1), Karol Stec (2), van Buuren S. (3), Meigen C. (4)

1) Aschauhof, Altenhof, Germany; 2) University of Potsdam, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Bioinformatics Group, Potsdam-Golm, Germany; 3) TNO Prevention and Health, LEIDEN, The Netherlands; 4) Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, Bonn, Germany

Hermanussen Michael, e-mail: michael.hermanussen@gmail.com.

Abstract

Background: The world-wide variation in human growth has long been documented. The present work was undertaken to re-analyse the between-population variance in growth, and to provide a globally applicable technique for generating growth references. Material and methods: We meta-analyzed 196 female and 197 male growth studies published since 1831 using Preece-Baines analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Maximum Likelihood Principle (MLP) for non-linear optimization was used to generate synthetic growth references for any desired population. Results: PCA revealed five components that explain 98.4% of the between-study variance in mean height, 99.2% of this variance in mean weight, and 93% (females) and 94% (males) of this variance in mean BMI. Combining PCA and MLP improves generating synthetic growth references, with average residuals for mean height of 0.92 cm when registering at 2 age groups, and 0.45 cm when registering at 5 age groups. Conclusion: PCA provides global descriptions of height, weight and BMI for the full age range (0–18 years). Combining PCA and MLP can be used for plausibility checks in growth investigations, and for generating synthetic growth references for any population that lacks autochthonous growth references, e.g. modern African populations, migrants, or ethnic minorities.

Keywords

auxology, growth studies, meta-analysis, national and regional references, synthetic growth charts, 0-18 age range

Цит.: Hermanussen Michael, Karol Stec, van Buuren S., Meigen C. GLOBAL GROWTH CHARTS: NEW CONCEPTS OF GENERATING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL REFERENCES FOR HEIGHT, WEIGHT, AND BMI FROM 0–18 YEARS // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 3/2014; с. 15-15