Prenatal climate shocks and adult height in developing countries. Evidence from Japan (1872-1917).

This paper contributes to quantifying the biological implications of short-run climatic shocks and economic fluctuations in developing countries. Relying on a unique economic, climatic and anthropometric Japanese data covering the period from 1872 to 1917 (corresponding to the early phase of Japanese industrialization), we estimate the impact of yearly and monthly regional climate anomalies and yearly nationwide business cycle reversals on the average height of Japanese conscripts and its dispersion. Our estimations detect that climate anomalies during gestation and early infancy induced a decrease in average height observed at adulthood, as well as an increase in height dispersion, indicating greater welfare inequalities. These results indicate that pre-Anthropocene climate shocks had irremediable welfare implications for the poorest segments of the population in lower income countries.

Temporal trends, regional variation and socio-economic differences in height, BMI and body proportions among German conscripts, 1956-2010.

OBJECTIVE: We analyse temporal trends and regional variation among the most recent available anthropometric data from German conscription in the years 2008-2010 and their historical contextualization since 1956. Design/setting/subjects The overall sample included German conscripts (N 13 857 313) from 1956 to 2010. RESULTS: German conscripts changed from growing in height to growing in breadth. Over the analysed 54 years, average height of 19-year-old conscripts increased by 6·5 cm from 173·5 cm in 1956 (birth year 1937) to 180·0 cm in 2010 (birth year 1991). This increase plateaued since the 1990s (1970s birth years). The increase in average weight, however, did not lessen during the last two decades but increased in two steps: at the end of the 1980s and after 1999. The weight and BMI distributions became increasingly right-skewed, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 11·6 % and 2·1 % in 1984 to 19·9 % and 8·5 % in 2010, respectively. The north-south gradient in height (north = taller) persisted during our observations. Height and weight of conscripts from East Germany matched the German average between the early 1990s and 2009. Between the 1980s and the early 1990s, the average chest circumference increased, the average difference between chest circumference when inhaling and exhaling decreased, as did leg length relative to trunk length. CONCLUSIONS: Measuring anthropometric data for military conscripts yielded year-by-year monitoring of the health status of young men at a proscribed age. Such findings contribute to a more precise identification of groups at risk and thus help with further studies and to target interventions.

CT-Based Assessment of Relative Soft-Tissue Alteration in Different Types of Ancient Mummies.

Mummification leads to alteration of soft-tissue morphology. No research has focused specifically on differences in soft-tissue shrinkage depending on mummification type. This study evaluated whether soft-tissue alteration is dependent on type of mummification. A total of 17 human mummies have been investigated by computed tomography (CT). Samples included artificially embalmed ancient Egyptian mummies, naturally mummified South American corpses, ice mummies (including the Iceman, South Tyrol Museum of Archeology, Bolzano, Italy, ca. 3,300 BC), bog bodies and a desiccated mummy of possibly Asian provenance. The acquired data were compared to four contemporary bodies. The extent of soft-tissue shrinkage was evaluated using CT data. Shrinkage was defined as soft-tissue relative to area of bone (in number of voxels). Measurements were taken at 13 anatomically defined locations. Ice mummies show the highest degree of preservation. This finding is most likely explained due to frozen water within tissues. All other types of mummies show significantly (at P < 0.05) smaller relative area of preserved soft-tissue. Variation between different anatomical structures (e.g., upper lip vs. mid-femur) is significant, unlike variation within one compartment (e.g., proximal vs. distal humerus). Mummification type strongly affects the degree of soft-tissue alteration, surprisingly mostly independent of overall historical age. These results highlight the unique morphological impact of taphonomy on soft-tissue preservation and are of particular interest in tissue research as well as in forensics.

From left-skewness to symmetry: how body-height distribution among Swiss conscripts has changed shape since the late 19th century.

BACKGROUND: It is generally accepted that height distribution in modern populations is nearly symmetrical. However, it may deviate from symmetry when nutritional status is inadequate. Aim and subjects: This study provides an analysis of changes in the shape of the height distributions among Swiss conscripts (n = 267,829) over the past 130 years based on a highly representative, standardized and unchanged data source. RESULTS: The analysed distributions from the 1870s-1890s conscription years are markedly left-skewed (-0.76 to -0.82), with short and very short men significantly over-represented. Standard deviation is 7.7 cm. In particular, the left tails of the late-19th- and early-20th-century distributions are very heavy. In the first half of the 20th century the first signs of a diminution of the heavy left tail are observable, by the 1970s the phenomenon disappears and height distribution becomes symmetrical; standard deviation is now 6.5 cm. CONCLUSION: The relatively strong left-skewness during the late 19th and early 20th centuries may have been due to the interaction of a number of causes, chiefly malnutrition, a wider range in physical development at age 19 and widespread iodine deficiency.

Socioeconomic, temporal and regional variation in body mass index among 188,537 Swiss male conscripts born between 1986 and 1992.

BACKGROUND: Rising levels of overweight and obesity are important public-health concerns worldwide. The purpose of this study is to elucidate their prevalence and trends in Switzerland by analyzing variations in Body Mass Index (BMI) of Swiss conscripts. METHODS: The conscription records were provided by the Swiss Army. This study focussed on conscripts 18.5-20.5 years of age from the seven one-year birth cohorts spanning the period 1986-1992. BMI across professional status, area-based socioeconomic position (abSEP), urbanicity and regions was analyzed. Two piecewise quantile regression models with linear splines for three birth-cohort groups were used to examine the association of median BMI with explanatory variables and to determine the extent to which BMI has varied over time. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 188,537 individuals. Median BMI was 22.51 kg/m2 (22.45-22.57 95% confidence interval (CI)). BMI was lower among conscripts of high professional status (-0.46 kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.50, -0.42, compared with low), living in areas of high abSEP (-0.11 kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.16, -0.07 compared to medium) and from urban communities (-0.07 kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.11, -0.03, compared with peri-urban). Comparing with Midland, median BMI was highest in the North-West (0.25 kg/m2; 95% CI: 0.19-0.30) and Central regions (0.11 kg/m2; 95% CI: 0.05-0.16) and lowest in the East (-0.19 kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.24, -0.14) and Lake Geneva regions (-0.15 kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.20, -0.09). Trajectories of regional BMI growth varied across birth cohorts, with median BMI remaining high in the Central and North-West regions, whereas stabilization and in some cases a decline were observed elsewhere. CONCLUSIONS: BMI of Swiss conscripts is associated with individual and abSEP and urbanicity. Results show regional variation in the levels and temporal trajectories of BMI growth and signal their possible slowdown among recent birth cohorts.

Edouard Mallet's early and almost forgotten study of the average height of Genevan conscripts in 1835.

In 1835, Edouard Mallet published a notable but today nearly forgotten study of the average height of Genevan conscripts. His individual data included 3029 conscripts born between 1805 and 1814, examined and measured between 1826 and 1835. Mallet's work was only the third auxological study to be based on a large sample of individual conscript data, the other two being those of Louis-René Villermé and Adolphe Quetelet, but as far as we know Mallet's was the first to note the law of normal distribution. Like Villermé and Quetelet, Mallet explained urban/rural and international differences in average height strictly in terms of environmental and economic determinants. In the recent past, references to Mallet's work have been rare, and limited to citations of his computed averages. We postulate that Mallet and his study deserve greater consideration for their contribution to the field of anthropometric history than they have yet received.

Variability of height, weight, and body mass index in a Swiss armed forces 2005 census.

The influence of the environment and genetics on individual biological characteristics, such as body mass and stature is well known. Many studies of these relationships have been based on conscript data. These studies often suffer from the fact that their data cover only a part of the population. Characterized by prosperity, democratic stability and enormous micro-regional cultural diversity, Switzerland is in the unique situation of offering data covering more than 80% of annual male birth cohorts. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of socioeconomic success, cultural differences, month of birth, and altitude (among other factors) on individual anthropometric characteristics of conscripts (N approximately 28,000) in the 2005 census. Our result highlights in such a large male sample the relationship between economic environment, regional cultural diversity, climate, and other factors, such as individual month of birth on stature and weight. Socioeconomic status, culture (as reflected by mother tongue), and month of birth were found to have significant effects on height and weight, while altitude did not show such effects. In general, weight is more affected by all these variables than height. Taking weight-dependent mortality and morbidity into account, it is of foremost public interest to know more about paired effects of living conditions on stature and weight in a highly developed society.

Determinants of inter-individual cholesterol level variation in an unbiased young male sample.

QUESTION UNDER STUDY: Affected by individual life style, the total cholesterol serum level is a major morbidity and mortality risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). We present total cholesterol values and their possible aetiological factors of young Swiss conscripts. Particularly, we study varying impact of these factors depending on different levels of individual cholesterol. METHODS: Male conscripts (n = 19,272) of the 2005 census of the conscripts have been examined, reflecting ca. 59% of a total Swiss male birth cohort. Quantile regression allows us to analyse responses of arbitrary quantiles with respect to variables of interest. RESULTS: Eleven percent of all conscripts show clinically important increased total cholesterol levels. There is a major association of high individual cholesterol level with French regional language. The largest socio-economic subsample--agricultural and construction workers--show significantly higher individual cholesterol levels than employees in the industry sector and students, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We were able to find that culture, as indicated by the mother tongue, and socioeconomic status as indicated by profession/vocation, influence individual total cholesterol levels while climate as indicated by altitude does not have an influence on cholesterol levels. Such a broad screening programme offers a unique opportunity to target persons at high-risk for CVD morbidity and mortality already early in life.

Paleopathologies of the vertebral column in medieval skeletons.

Paleopathological data provide valuable information about health, longevity and mortality in earlier human populations. We investigated the incidence of spinal pathologies on 54 individuals (1045 vertebrae and 18 sacral bones) that belong to a medieval skeletal series discovered in the Dalheim monastery (Northwest Germany) and compared them with contemporary and recent populations. The skeletons were analyzed with anthropological methods (sex and age determination), by macroscopic inspection, and, if pathologies of the spine and the sacrum were visible, also by X-ray. We investigated evidence of trauma, specific and nonspecific infectious diseases, joint diseases, tumors, and congenital as well as metabolic disorders. Radiocarbon determination of four samples of different specimens was also undertaken revealing a historic dating of ca. 1050 AD. The most common pathological findings were degenerative changes of the spine found in 29 individuals (53.3%). Examples of infections of the spine were rare (0.8% of all vertebrae). There were no cases of traumatic injuries of the spine. The prevalence of spondylosis deformans, the most commonly found type of pathology was found to be higher in the lumbar region, in males as well as in individuals of low stature.

Boom, bust, and the human body: further evidence on the relationship between height and business cycles.

Historical time series for average human height exhibit short- and medium-term cycles that can be associated with business cycles in the 19th and 20th century. Using spectral analysis, we calculate the proportion of cyclical fluctuations in height series attributable to economic cycles. We also analyze the extent to which these cyclical phenomena change over time. In the U.S., the association between height cycles and business cycles was weaker among richer segments of the society, and weaker among men than among women. Additionally, the relationship diminished over time, probably with the rich preceding the population at large.

Time structures, chronomes, of soldiers' stature mimicking Hale cycle in neonatal body length.

The systematic patterns in human adult physical stature are explored in connection with Wolf's relative sunspot numbers. This topic should be of interest to economists, physicians as well as physicists. There is a need for more than a check of any similarity of curves in variables approximating the economy and human stature and for more than the application of mathematical models, as done herein. Ours is at best a halting step at one frequency, presented only to document the challenge of a transdisciplinary approach to multifrequency intermodulations of hosts of variables, yet to be untangled. The circumstance that at birth some decisions concerning adult stature are already made is challenging. The signature of the environment in terms of the about 21-year Hale bipolarity cycle of Wolf's relative sunspot numbers found in adult soldiers shows that the association at birth is not a transient one, even if other evidence beyond our scope herein points to the possibility that observations on presumably healthy soldiers can be extrapolated to abnormal growth. Nonetheless, the task for those concerned with short stature could become preventive if the sensitive stages when growth may be inhibited by the environment could be found, as well as means to shield from or counter the undesirable effects.

Height cycles in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Spectral analysis of the physical stature of Americans and Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries reveals a cyclical structure similar to the traditional view of the business cycle: a longer cycle with a length of 7-10 years, and a shorter cycle with a length of 3-5 years. The correlation between height cycles and cycles of economic variables such as grain prices indicates an influence of economic cycles on physical stature. The phase shift between the cycles indicates that economic conditions are especially important for growth in infancy. In part, this result is due to a cumulative effect: born into a recessionary period, a child is likely to face several cyclical downturns during the growing years.