Growing taller unequally? Adult height and socioeconomic status in Spain (Cohorts 1940-1994).

Socioeconomic inequalities and their evolution in different historical contexts have been widely studied. However, some of their dimensions remain relatively unexplored, such as the role played by socioeconomic status in the trajectory of biological living standards, especially net nutritional status. The main objective of this article is to analyze whether the power of socioeconomic status (SES) to explain differences in the biological dimensions of human well-being (in this case, adult height, a reliable metric for health and nutritional status) has increased or diminished over time. Educational attainment and occupational category have been used as two different proxies for the SES of Spanish men and women born between 1940 and 1994, thus covering a historical period in Spain characterized by remarkable socioeconomic development and a marked increase in mean adult height. Our data is drawn from nine waves of the Spanish National Health Survey and the Spanish sample of two waves of the European Health Interview Survey (ENSE) for the period 1987 to 2017 (N = 73,699 citizens aged 23-47). A multivariate regression analysis has been conducted, showing that, as a whole, height differentials by educational attainment have diminished over time, whereas differences by occupational category of household heads have largely persisted. These results indicate the need for further qualification when describing the process of convergence in biological well-being indicators across social groups. For instance, the progressive enrollment of a greater proportion of the population into higher educational levels may lead us to underestimate the real differences between socioeconomic groups, while other proxies of SES still point to the persistence of such differences.

Assessing the effects of autarchic policies on the biological well-being: Analysis of deviations in cohort male height in the Valencian Community (Spain) during Francoist regime.

This article aims to assess the impact of autarchic policies on the biological dimensions of human well-being during Francoist regime in Spain. This is done by examining the nutritional status of the population through the study of male adult heights. Our case study is the Valencian Community with the focus on the period 1940-59 which witnessed the implementation of such policies. The heights of 21-year old draftees born between 1900 and 1954 from nine municipalities (N = 87,510) were analyzed in the light of inter-cohort deviations from a secular trend established for cohorts that were not exposed to autarchy-related hardships. Height was regressed on infant mortality as a way to control for infection and therefore approach the net effect of nutrition on height outcomes. Contrarily to what was displayed by cohort height trends in themselves, the results reveal a significant worsening of the nutritional status of the male population at the time. Deviations from the expected height trend across municipalities ranged between -0.5 and -3.4 mm per year. The effects of malnutrition are found to be larger among cohorts born in the period 1920-34 in coherence with a longer exposure to autarchy hardships during adolescence. Pre-autarchy nutrition levels observed among the cohorts of 1900-14 were not regained until the cohorts 1945-49. The results also show that malnutrition had an unequal impact with the large industrial towns of our sample experiencing the poorest height outcomes. Overall, these results invite to revise conclusions obtained from the sole evidence of height trends and they question the efficiency of intervention policies implemented in Spain during the 1940s.

Nutrición y desigualdad en el largo plazo: ¿qué enseña la historia antropométrica sobre España? / Nutrition, growth and inequality in the long term: What does anthropometric history teach about Spain?

Este artículo destaca la importancia de la historia antropométrica entre las ciencias preocupadas por la nutrición y la salud. La evolución del estado nutricional y de la desigualdad en España medida por indicadores antropométricos es el principal objetivo de un conjunto de 18 contribuciones presentadas y discutidas en el IV Workshop de Historia Antropométrica celebrado a comienzos de 2018. Después de mostrar la capacidad de la estatura humana como representación del impacto de los procesos socioeconómicos y de los cambios ambientales en el estado nutricional durante los últimos siglos, se presentan las principales aportaciones y avances realizados en el taller. Las contribuciones abordan distintas facetas de la desigualdad de la salud nutricional y de sus determinantes desde finales del siglo xviii hasta 2015. Además de la talla y del peso a diferentes edades (principalmente adultas), se incluyen otros indicadores antropométricos, como el dimorfismo sexual y el bajo peso al nacimiento. Los resultados reflejan graves problemas de malnutrición y de desigualdad en el pasado que persisten con otra naturaleza en la actualidad: retraso en el crecimiento hasta la década de los sesenta y creciente prevalencia de obesidad desde 1980. Se concluye que los determinantes del estado nutricional y de la desigualdad de la salud requieren un enfoque multidimensional y de diálogo entre las ciencias sociales y las biomédicas. Conocer su dimensión en el pasado y su evolución proporciona un valioso aporte de conocimiento para entender con mayor perspectiva los problemas actuales y poder intervenir con atino en las políticas futuras

This article underlines the relevance of anthropometric history among the disciplines concerned with health and nutrition. The examination of changes on the nutritional status and inequality in Spain focused the 4th Anthropometric History Workshop held at the beginning of 2018 where 18 original contributions were presented and discussed. We first show the ability of human stature to approach the impact of socioeconomic processes and environmental changes on the nutritional status over the last centuries. Then it is proceeded to present the main contents and advances achieved in the workshop. The papers coped with diverse dimensions of inequality regarding nutritional health and its determinants since the end of the 18th century until 2015. Aside of height and weight at different ages, principally adult ones, others anthropometric indicators were analyzed such as sexual dimorphism and low weight at birth. The results illustrate the large prevalence of malnutrition and social inequality in past Spain. These problems persisted over a good part of the 20th century (i.e. stunting) and, they acquired a different nature since the 1980s as the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity reveals. It is concluded that the determinants of nutritional status and health-related inequalities request multidimensional approaches and the dialogue between social sciences and biomedical sciences. Knowing about their dimensions in the past and their evolution over time provides a valuable basis in order to understand current problems in these areas and to address future public policies more adequately on childhood and adolescence

La evolución de la desigualdad del estado nutricional al sur de la Comunidad Valenciana: un análisis antropométrico de Elche y Orihuela entre 1840 y 1984 / The evolution of nutritional status inequalities in the South of the region of Valencia: an anthropometric analysis of Elche and Orihuela between 1840 and 1984

Introducción: existen numerosos estudios que han utilizado datos antropométricos para aproximarse a la evolución del estado nutricional neto, pero los centrados en la evolución de las diferencias socioeconómicas en este plano del bienestar son aún escasos para España. Objetivo: analizar la evolución de la desigualdad del estado nutricional en el largo plazo a través de una muestra de estaturas masculinas en las ciudades de Elche y Orihuela. Métodos: se utilizan datos antropométricos y sociodemográficos del reclutamiento militar por quintas: varones de entre 19 y 21 años nacidos entre 1840 y 1964 que fueron examinados entre 1860 y 1984. Se analiza la desigualdad antropométrica mediante el estudio de percentiles, coeficiente de variación y series de estatura media por segmentos socioeducativos: alfabetizados, analfabetos y estudiantes. Resultados: se observa una asociación entre promedios bajos de estatura (estado nutricional pobre) y una distribución más heterogénea del parámetro antropométrico (mayor desigualdad). Los valores más altos del coeficiente de variación, así como las diferencias más notables en términos socioeducativos, se registran durante las décadas centrales del siglo xix y durante la coyuntura de la Guerra Civil y la primera posguerra. Conclusión: la desigualdad en el estado nutricional se redujo desde niveles muy altos en la fase previa a la transición nutricional y epidemiológica a niveles moderados durante dichas transiciones. No obstante, se registra un nuevo aumento de la desigualdad entre las generaciones nacidas a partir de la década de 1940 cuyo ciclo de vida se desarrolló total o parcialmente en la fase avanzada de la transición nutricional

Introduction: many studies have used anthropometric data to approach the evolution of the net nutritional status but those focused on its socioeconomic differentials over time are still a few in Spain. Objective: to analyze the evolution of nutritional inequalities in the long run by using a sample of male statures from the Spanish towns of Elche and Orihuela. Methods: we use anthropometric and sociodemographic data entailed to conscripts aged 19-21 who were born between 1840 and 1964 and were measured between 1860 and 1984. Anthropometric inequalities are approached by analyzing height percentiles series, variation coefficient series as well as height series by socio-educational status: literate, illiterate and students. Results: there is a solid association between low height averages (poor nutritional status) and more heterogeneous height distribution (higher inequality). The highest values of the variation coefficient as well as the larger differences by socio-educational status are found during the central decades of the 19th century and during the context of the Spanish Civil War and the first postwar decade. Conclusion: nutritional inequalities as reflected by heights decreased from very high levels prior to the nutrition and epidemiological transitions moderate levels during such transitions. Nevertheless, an increase in nutritional inequality is found among the cohorts born during the decade of the 1940s which were fully or partially raised during the advanced stage of the nutrition transition

Sobre la asociación entre el dimorfismo sexual en estatura y el estado nutricional de hombres y mujeres en el largo plazo / On the association between stature sexual dimorphism and the nutritional status of men and women in the long run

Introducción: las variaciones generacionales en estatura son un proxy aceptado de las condiciones de vida, y específicamente del estado nutricional de una población, pero existe un debate sobre el significado de las variaciones del dimorfismo sexual a lo largo del tiempo Objetivos: testar la asociación entre el estado nutricional y los cambios en los diferenciales de estaturas entre hombres y mujeres (dimorfismo sexual) en el largo plazo (siglos xix y xx). Métodos: se utilizan tres fuentes de datos (estaturas medidas adultas): - Datos contenidos en trabajos previos. - Datos de encuestas de salud en países de la OCDE. - Datos procedentes del proyecto NCD RisC Factor Collaboration. Se analizan dos indicadores: dimorfismo absoluto (diferencia entre estatura masculina y femenina) y ratio de dimorfismo (estatura masculina dividida entre estatura femenina). Resultados: durante la segunda mitad del siglo xx se evidencia una tendencia de aumento intergeneracional del dimorfismo coincidiendo con la mejora sustancial de los factores ambientales que intervienen en el estado nutricional neto de la población. Entre las cohortes nacidas a finales del siglo xx en ambientes no marginales, el dimorfismo medio hallado es de 13,69 cm (absoluto) y de 1,084 (ratio). En comparación con estos valores, los hallados en el siglo xix son anormalmente bajos, particularmente durante ciclos de deterioro de las condiciones de vida. Conclusiones: adecuadamente referenciado, el dimorfismo sexual puede informar sobre sobre contextos de estrés ambiental y su impacto en el estado nutricional, así como sobre los diferenciales entre segmentos específicos de la población, tanto desde una perspectiva transversal como diacrónica

Introduction: height variations across cohorts are a proxy of the evolution of living conditions and, specifically, of the nutritional status of a given population. However, the interpretation of the changes in stature sexual dimorphism are controversial. Objective: to test the association between nutritional status and the changes in height differentials between men and women (sexual dimorphism) in the long run (19th and 20th centuries). Methods: three data sources containing measured adult heights are used, namely: - Data from previous works. - Data from health examination surveys in OECD countries. - Data from the NCD RisC Factor Collaboration project. Two indicators are analyzed: absolute sexual dimorphism (men's height minus women's height) and the ratio of sexual dimorphism (men's height divided by women's height). Results: a secular trend of sexual dimorphism is evidenced over the second half of the 20th century coinciding with the substantial improvement of environmental factors that determine the net nutritional status. Among cohorts born at the end of the 20th century in non-marginal environments, the average sexual dimorphism was found to be 13.69 cm -absolute- and 1.084 -ratio-. In comparison with these modern figures of sexual dimorphism, those found among cohorts born during the 19th century are abnormally low, especially during periods of worsening of living conditions. Conclusions: if properly addressed, sexual dimorphism has the ability to report on the degree of environmental stress and its impact on the nutritional status and its differentials across specific groups of the population both cross-sectionally and over time

[Nutrition, growth and inequality in the long term: What does anthropometric history teach about Spain?] / Nutrición y desigualdad en el largo plazo: ¿qué enseña la historia antropométrica sobre España?

This article underlines the relevance of anthropometric history among the disciplines concerned with health and nutrition. The examination of changes on the nutritional status and inequality in Spain focused the 4th Anthropometric History Workshop held at the beginning of 2018 where 18 original contributions were presented and discussed. We first show the ability of human stature to approach the impact of socioeconomic processes and environmental changes on the nutritional status over the last centuries. Then it is proceeded to present the main contents and advances achieved in the workshop. The papers coped with diverse dimensions of inequality regarding nutritional health and its determinants since the end of the 18th century until 2015. Aside of height and weight at different ages, principally adult ones, others anthropometric indicators were analyzed such as sexual dimorphism and low weight at birth. The results illustrate the large prevalence of malnutrition and social inequality in past Spain. These problems persisted over a good part of the 20th century (i.e. stunting) and, they acquired a different nature since the 1980s as the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity reveals. It is concluded that the determinants of nutritional status and health-related inequalities request multidimensional approaches and the dialogue between social sciences and biomedical sciences. Knowing about their dimensions in the past and their evolution over time provides a valuable basis in order to understand current problems in these areas and to address future public policies more adequately on childhood and adolescence.

Este artículo destaca la importancia de la historia antropométrica entre las ciencias preocupadas por la nutrición y la salud. La evolución del estado nutricional y de la desigualdad en España medida por indicadores antropométricos es el principal objetivo de un conjunto de 18 contribuciones presentadas y discutidas en el IV Workshop de Historia Antropométrica celebrado a comienzos de 2018.Después de mostrar la capacidad de la estatura humana como representación del impacto de los procesos socioeconómicos y de los cambios ambientales en el estado nutricional durante los últimos siglos, se presentan las principales aportaciones y avances realizados en el taller. Las contribuciones abordan distintas facetas de la desigualdad de la salud nutricional y de sus determinantes desde finales del siglo XVIII hasta 2015. Además de la talla y del peso a diferentes edades (principalmente adultas), se incluyen otros indicadores antropométricos, como el dimorfismo sexual y el bajo peso al nacimiento. Los resultados reflejan graves problemas de malnutrición y de desigualdad en el pasado que persisten con otra naturaleza en la actualidad: retraso en el crecimiento hasta la década de los sesenta y creciente prevalencia de obesidad desde 1980.Se concluye que los determinantes del estado nutricional y de la desigualdad de la salud requieren un enfoque multidimensional y de diálogo entre las ciencias sociales y las biomédicas. Conocer su dimensión en el pasado y su evolución proporciona un valioso aporte de conocimiento para entender con mayor perspectiva los problemas actuales y poder intervenir con atino en las políticas futuras.

[The evolution of nutritional status inequalities in the South of the region of Valencia: an anthropometric analysis of Elche and Orihuela between 1840 and 1984]. / La evolución de la desigualdad del estado nutricional al sur de la Comunidad Valenciana: un análisis antropométrico de Elche y Orihuela entre 1840 y 1984.

INTRODUCTION: many studies have used anthropometric data to approach the evolution of the net nutritional status but those focused on its socioeconomic differentials over time are still a few in Spain. OBJECTIVE: to analyze the evolution of nutritional inequalities in the long run by using a sample of male statures from the Spanish towns of Elche and Orihuela. METHODS: we use anthropometric and sociodemographic data entailed to conscripts aged 19-21 who were born between 1840 and 1964 and were measured between 1860 and 1984. Anthropometric inequalities are approached by analyzing height percentiles series, variation coefficient series as well as height series by socio-educational status: literate, illiterate and students. RESULTS: there is a solid association between low height averages (poor nutritional status) and more heterogeneous height distribution (higher inequality). The highest values of the variation coefficient as well as the larger differences by socio-educational status are found during the central decades of the 19th century and during the context of the Spanish Civil War and the first postwar decade. CONCLUSION: nutritional inequalities as reflected by heights decreased from very high levels prior to the nutrition and epidemiological transitions moderate levels during such transitions. Nevertheless, an increase in nutritional inequality is found among the cohorts born during the decade of the 1940s which were fully or partially raised during the advanced stage of the nutrition transition.

Introducción: existen numerosos estudios que han utilizado datos antropométricos para aproximarse a la evolución del estado nutricional neto, pero los centrados en la evolución de las diferencias socioeconómicas en este plano del bienestar son aún escasos para España.Objetivo: analizar la evolución de la desigualdad del estado nutricional en el largo plazo a través de una muestra de estaturas masculinas en las ciudades de Elche y Orihuela. Métodos: se utilizan datos antropométricos y sociodemográficos del reclutamiento militar por quintas: varones de entre 19 y 21 años nacidos entre 1840 y 1964 que fueron examinados entre 1860 y 1984. Se analiza la desigualdad antropométrica mediante el estudio de percentiles, coeficiente de variación y series de estatura media por segmentos socioeducativos: alfabetizados, analfabetos y estudiantes.Resultados: se observa una asociación entre promedios bajos de estatura (estado nutricional pobre) y una distribución más heterogénea del parámetro antropométrico (mayor desigualdad). Los valores más altos del coeficiente de variación, así como las diferencias más notables en términos socioeducativos, se registran durante las décadas centrales del siglo xix y durante la coyuntura de la Guerra Civil y la primera posguerra.Conclusión: la desigualdad en el estado nutricional se redujo desde niveles muy altos en la fase previa a la transición nutricional y epidemiológica a niveles moderados durante dichas transiciones. No obstante, se registra un nuevo aumento de la desigualdad entre las generaciones nacidas a partir de la década de 1940 cuyo ciclo de vida se desarrolló total o parcialmente en la fase avanzada de la transición nutricional.

[On the association between stature sexual dimorphism and the nutritional status of men and women in the long run]. / Sobre la asociación entre el dimorfismo sexual en estatura y el estado nutricional de hombres y mujeres en el largo plazo.

INTRODUCTION: height variations across cohorts are a proxy of the evolution of living conditions and, specifically, of the nutritional status of a given population. However, the interpretation of the changes in stature sexual dimorphism are controversial. OBJECTIVE: to test the association between nutritional status and the changes in height differentials between men and women (sexual dimorphism) in the long run (19th and 20th centuries). METHODS: three data sources containing measured adult heights are used, namely: - Data from previous works. - Data from health examination surveys in OECD countries. - Data from the NCD RisC Factor Collaboration project. Two indicators are analyzed: absolute sexual dimorphism (men's height minus women's height) and the ratio of sexual dimorphism (men's height divided by women's height). RESULTS: a secular trend of sexual dimorphism is evidenced over the second half of the 20th century coinciding with the substantial improvement of environmental factors that determine the net nutritional status. Among cohorts born at the end of the 20th century in non-marginal environments, the average sexual dimorphism was found to be 13.69 cm -absolute- and 1.084 -ratio-. In comparison with these modern figures of sexual dimorphism, those found among cohorts born during the 19th century are abnormally low, especially during periods of worsening of living conditions. CONCLUSIONS: if properly addressed, sexual dimorphism has the ability to report on the degree of environmental stress and its impact on the nutritional status and its differentials across specific groups of the population both cross-sectionally and over time.

Introducción: las variaciones generacionales en estatura son un proxy aceptado de las condiciones de vida, y específicamente del estado nutricional de una población, pero existe un debate sobre el significado de las variaciones del dimorfismo sexual a lo largo del tiempo.Objetivos: testar la asociación entre el estado nutricional y los cambios en los diferenciales de estaturas entre hombres y mujeres (dimorfismo sexual) en el largo plazo (siglos XIX y XX).Métodos: se utilizan tres fuentes de datos (estaturas medidas adultas):­Datos contenidos en trabajos previos.­Datos de encuestas de salud en países de la OCDE.­Datos procedentes del proyecto NCD RisC Factor Collaboration. Se analizan dos indicadores: dimorfismo absoluto (diferencia entre estatura masculina y femenina) y ratio de dimorfismo (estatura masculina dividida entre estatura femenina).Resultados: durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX se evidencia una tendencia de aumento intergeneracional del dimorfismo coincidiendo con la mejora sustancial de los factores ambientales que intervienen en el estado nutricional neto de la población. Entre las cohortes nacidas a finales del siglo XX en ambientes no marginales, el dimorfismo medio hallado es de 13,69 cm (absoluto) y de 1,084 (ratio). En comparación con estos valores, los hallados en el siglo XIX son anormalmente bajos, particularmente durante ciclos de deterioro de las condiciones de vida.Conclusiones: adecuadamente referenciado, el dimorfismo sexual puede informar sobre sobre contextos de estrés ambiental y su impacto en el estado nutricional, así como sobre los diferenciales entre segmentos específicos de la población, tanto desde una perspectiva transversal como diacrónica.

Smoking cessation among European older adults: the contributions of marital and employment transitions by gender.

Knowledge about the potential effects of stressful events on smoking cessation is helpful for the design of health interventions. Previous studies on this topic tended to group together adults of all ages and of both genders. We investigate the contribution of marital and employment losses on smoking cessation by gender, specifically among older adults in Europe. We used panel data from waves 4 (2011) and 5 (2013) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for 3345 male and 3115 female smokers at baseline aged 50 and over from 13 countries. The associations between marital and employment losses and smoking cessation were derived from logistic regression models for each gender, controlling for age, educational attainment, diseases incidence and country of residence. Interactions between gender and marital and employment losses were tested. Over the analysed period, 119 smokers became widowed or divorced (1.8 %), 318 became retired (4.9 %) and 100 became unemployed (1.5 %). Becoming widowed or divorced was associated with lower probability of smoking cessation among both men (OR 0.36, 95 % CI 0.14-0.94) and women (OR 0.46, 95 % CI 0.21-0.99). Transitions to unemployment and to retirement were not significantly associated with smoking cessation (OR 0.62, 95 % CI 0.25-1.49; and OR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.43-1.07, respectively). Gender differences in the association between marital and employment losses and smoking cessation were not statistically significant (p value > 0.05 for all interactions). Health interventions should take into account that male and female older adults affected by marital loss are at risk of continuing smoking.

Parámetros antropométricos de los reclutas españoles antes de la transición nutricional. Análisis de las desigualdades territoriales (1858-1913).

Objetivo: analizar la geografía del estado nutricional en España y su evolución entre mediados del siglo xixy comienzos del siglo xx, etapa previa a la transición nutricional con alta prevalencia de malnutrición.Métodos: se utilizan datos antropométricos agregados (promedios provinciales de estatura) del reclutamiento militar en 1858 y 1913, así como promedios provinciales de estatura y peso procedentes de una revisión realizada entre 119.571 soldados en 1903-1906. Con estos datos se elaboran cartografía y estadísticos descriptivos.Resultados: los parámetros antropométricos de los españoles se situaban entre los valores de complexión más bajos de Europa antes de la transición nutricional. Entre 1858 y 1913, la altura media creció solo 1,43 cm. En ese periodo hubo cambios significativos en la geografía antropométrica marcados por la configuración de una polaridad nutricional a las puertas de la I Guerra Mundial: las provincias del centro y del sur de país exhiben mayor incidencia de la malnutrición crónica que las provincias del arco Noreste, que disfrutan de ventaja relativa en términos nutricionales.Conclusión:las desigualdades territoriales que configuraron una geografía polarizada del estado nutricional en España pueden asociarse en parte a los cambios ambientales del periodo, caracterizados por el inicio de la modernización y la industrialización y, asimismo, por la privación derivada de las crisis agrarias, las enfermedades y el relativo atraso tecnológico. Se destaca la relevancia de la historia antropométrica para el estudio de los niveles de vida en poblaciones del pasado y del proceso de transición nutricional.

Parámetros antropométricos de los reclutas españoles antes de la transición nutricional. Análisis de las desigualdades territoriales (1858-1913) / Anthropometric measures of Spanish conscripts prior to the nutrition transition. Analysis of spatial inequalities (1858-1913)

Objetivo: analizar la geografía del estado nutricional en España y su evolución entre mediados del siglo XIX y comienzos del siglo XX, etapa previa a la transición nutricional con alta prevalencia de malnutrición. Métodos: se utilizan datos antropométricos agregados (promedios provinciales de estatura) del reclutamiento militar en 1858 y 1913, así como promedios provinciales de estatura y peso procedentes de una revisión realizada entre 119.571 soldados en 1903-1906. Con estos datos se elaboran cartografía y estadísticos descriptivos. Resultados: los parámetros antropométricos de los españoles se situaban entre los valores de complexión más bajos de Europa antes de la transición nutricional. Entre 1858 y 1913, la altura media creció solo 1,43 cm. En ese periodo hubo cambios significativos en la geografía antropométrica marcados por la configuración de una polaridad nutricional a las puertas de la I Guerra Mundial: las provincias del centro y del sur de país exhiben mayor incidencia de la malnutrición crónica que las provincias del arco Noreste, que disfrutan de ventaja relativa en términos nutricionales. Conclusión: las desigualdades territoriales que configuraron una geografía polarizada del estado nutricional en España pueden asociarse en parte a los cambios ambientales del periodo, caracterizados por el inicio de la modernización y la industrialización y, asimismo, por la privación derivada de las crisis agrarias, las enfermedades y el relativo atraso tecnológico. Se destaca la relevancia de la historia antropométrica para el estudio de los niveles de vida en poblaciones del pasado y del proceso de transición nutricional (AU)

Objective: To explore the regional pattern of nutritional status and its evolution between the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in Spain. This period precedes the nutrition transition and it was characterized by the high prevalence of malnutrition. Methods: We use anthropometric data (province-level height means) from conscription in 1858 y 1913 as well as province-level means of height and weight from a large examination held among 119,571 soldiers in 1903-1906. These data are used to construct anthropometric cartography and descriptive statistics. Results: The complexion of Spanish conscripts as indicated by height and weight measures was among the lowest in Europe prior to the nutrition transition in this country. Male average height increased only 1.43 cm between 1858 and 1913. During that period significant changes in the anthropometric geography occurred in Spain which established a nutritional polarity on the eve of the World War I (WWI): inner and Southern provinces exhibited higher incidence of malnutrition whereas provinces in the North and East of the country displayed anthropometric figures above the national average. Conclusion: Spatial inequalities of nutritional status in Spain as reflected by anthropometric polarity may be largely associated with environmental changes. Such changes are related to the modernization and industrialization processes in this country at the time that a relative backwardness (e.g. economic and technological), structural scarcity, occasional subsistence and high exposure to illness persisted. Our results underline the utility of anthropometric data to approach the living conditions of past population and the process of nutrition transition in particular (AU)

Anthropometric geography applied to the analysis of socioeconomic disparities: cohort trends and spatial patterns of height and robustness in 20th-century Spain.

Anthropometrics have been widely used to study the influence of environmental factors on health and nutritional status. In contrast, anthropometric geography has not often been employed to approximate the dynamics of spatial disparities associated with socioeconomic and demographic changes. Spain exhibited intense disparity and change during the middle decades of the 20th century, with the result that the life courses of the corresponding cohorts were associated with diverse environmental conditions. This was also true of the Spanish territories. This paper presents insights concerning the relationship between socioeconomic changes and living conditions by combining the analysis of cohort trends and the anthropometric cartography of height and physical build. This analysis is conducted for Spanish male cohorts born 1934-1973 that were recorded in the Spanish military statistics. This information is interpreted in light of region-level data on GDP and infant mortality. Our results show an anthropometric convergence across regions that, nevertheless, did not substantially modify the spatial patterns of robustness, featuring primarily robust northeastern regions and weak Central-Southern regions. These patterns persisted until the 1990s (cohorts born during the 1970s). For the most part, anthropometric disparities were associated with socioeconomic disparities, although the former lessened over time to a greater extent than the latter. Interestingly, the various anthropometric indicators utilized here do not point to the same conclusions. Some discrepancies between height and robustness patterns have been found that moderate the statements from the analysis of cohort height alone regarding the level and evolution of living conditions across Spanish regions.

"Proceedings of the 22nd Aschauer Soiree on Growth and Health Screening", held at Altenhof, Germany, November 15th, 2014.

Twenty-five scientists met at Aschauhof, Altenhof, Germany, to discuss various aspects of the complex network of modern health screening, focusing on current scientific topics including medical sciences, human biology, and mathematics; on problems in implementing these results at the practical level of physicians, nurses, technicians, and engineers; and the level of administrative and political decisions. Whereas major scientific advancements have been published in the understanding and the bio-statistical evaluation of anthropometric screening parameters such as serial measurements of height and weight for preventive medical check-ups, BMI screening and surveillance in schools, etc., the implementation of these advancements into current health screening concepts, strategies and decision-making is poor. Fear of discrimination, misperception of body image, behavioural responses and political concerns, meanwhile dominate and negatively interfere with the implementation of recent scientific results into public health screening concepts and practices.

A biosocial approach to living conditions: inter-generational changes of stature dimorphism in 20th-century Spain.

BACKGROUND: Applying sexual stature dimorphism (SSD) to history and the social sciences faces the difficulty of disentangling nature from nurture in addition to the limitations of sources (e.g. small, fragmented or heterogeneous samples). AIM: To investigate the relationship between inter-generational changes and social differences in SSD and the evolution of living conditions in 20th-century Spain. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Self-reported height and socio-demographic information from individuals born 1910-1979 (n = 99,023) were drawn from health interview surveys. Weighed least squares regression was used to construct continuous time-cohort series of SSD for the entire population and for specific socioeconomic groups represented by levels of educational attainment. RESULTS: SSD remained below modern values among cohorts that were exposed to structural deprivation at pre-adult ages. Socioeconomic status mediated the correction of these deviations among subsequent cohorts. Lower classes (less educated segments of the population) systematically deviated to a greater extent from normal modern SSD values and they reached these values later in time. CONCLUSIONS: In Spain, variations in SSD have been found that are associated with both socioeconomic changes at a nationwide level and SES differentials at the individual level, thus continuous series of this indicator offer new opportunities in the study of living conditions of current and past generations.

The relationship between health and partnership history in adulthood: insights through retrospective information from Europeans aged 50 and over.

The association between health and partnership status is a growing concern within the social sciences. Some partnership situations exhibit positive effects on health, while partnership breakdowns display negative impacts. However, case studies show that these associations may change with age, due to potential sources of heterogeneity within a population. The current analysis explored this association over the adult life course (ages 30-64) of Europeans aged 50 years and older based on retrospective information on health and partnership from SHARELIFE (N = 23,535 after data screening). The data allowed us to control for socio-demographic covariates as well as for individual infirmity, measured by childhood health. We also considered contextual survival selection effects by comparing 13 European countries for which pre-adult mortality levels largely differed among the cohorts involved (1907-1958). Discrete-time hazard analyses examined the risk of suffering from a major episode of poor health (self-reported) in adulthood as a function of partnership history, using two approaches: a pooled model and country-specific models. The results revealed no differences between those who lived with a partner (first union) and single individuals in terms of the retrospective hazards of poor health. We hypothesize that this result stems from the cumulative effect of survival selection on individuals in advanced ages according to partnership status. The results also partially point to the plausibility of a contextual survival selection, which should be confirmed by further research based on additional health indicators.

The health transition and biological living standards: adult height and mortality in 20th-century Spain.

This paper seeks new insights concerning the health transition in 20th century Spain by analyzing both traditional (mortality-based) and alternative (anthropometric-based) health indicators. Data were drawn from national censuses, vital and cause-of-death statistics and seven National Health Surveys dating from 1987 to 2006 (almost 100,000 subjects aged 20-79 were used to compute cohort height averages). A multivariate regression analysis was performed on infant mortality and economic/historical dummy variables. Our results agree with the general timing of the health transition process in Spain as has been described to date insofar as we document that there was a rapid improvement of sanitary and health care related factors during the second half of the 20th century reflected by a steady decline in infant mortality and increase in adult height. However, the association between adult height and infant mortality turned out to be not linear. In addition, remarkable gender differences emerged: mean height increased continuously for male cohorts born after 1940 but meaningful improvements in height among female cohorts was not attained until the late 1950s.

Super size Spain? A cross-sectional and quasi-cohort trend analysis of adult overweight and obesity in an accelerated transition country.

Excess weight is becoming widespread in Spain due to changes in nutritional habits and lifestyles. Previous studies on this issue have focused on specific Spanish regions, subpopulations or relatively short time spans. This study analysed sex, age and cohort trends in the prevalence of adult overweight and obesity over the last two decades by applying a demographic methodology. Data came from the Spanish National Health Surveys that were held between 1987 and 2006. The respondent's demographic characteristics and self-reported height and weight were aggregated to a single dataset in order to analyse changes in weight and BMI by age and sex, over time and within and between quasi birth-cohorts. After correcting for sample bias and coding errors a total sample of about 100,000 subjects aged 20-79 was obtained. The results show that between 1987 and 2006 adult males and females increased their average weight by 8.2% and 2.8%, respectively. While among younger adults this is partly explained by height increases, prevalence in excess weight increased among 50- to 79-year-old males. Persons of the same 10-year age group but of a more recent 10-year quasi birth-cohort had a BMI that was 0.2-0.8 points higher. BMI increases were lower for women and mainly affected 60-79 year olds. In fact, even decreases were observed for 40- to 49 and 50- to 59-year-old women. Potential explanatory factors are discussed.