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. 2024 Jul 30;24(1):2046.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19469-8.

Early childhood height is a determinant of young adult stature in rural Nepal

Jiaxin Chen  1 , Ramesh K Adhikari  2 , Lee S-F Wu  1 , Subarna K Khatry  3 , Parul Christian  1   3 , Steven C LeClerq  1   3 , Joanne Katz  3   4 , Keith P West Jr  5   6
Affiliations

Early childhood height is a determinant of young adult stature in rural Nepal

Jiaxin Chen et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Does preschool height predict adult stature in undernourished settings? The extent to which preschool length or height forecasts young adult stature is unclear in chronically undernourished populations.

Methods: In 2006-8, we assessed height in a cohort of 2074 young adults, aged 16-23 years, in rural Nepal who, as preschoolers (≤ 4 year), were measured at baseline and again 16 months later during a vitamin A supplementation trial in 1989-91. We assessed by linear regression the ability of preschool length (L, measured < 24 mo) or height (Ht, 24-59 mo), at each year of age to predict 16-23 year old height, adjusted for month of young adult age, interval duration (in months), caste, preschool weight-for-height z-score and, in young women, time since menarche, marriage status and pregnancy history.

Results: Young women were a mean of 0.81, 1.11, 0.82, 0.24, 0.44 cm taller (all p < 0.01) and young men, 0.84, 1.18, 0.74, 0.64 and 0.48 cm taller (all p < 0.001) per cm of attained L/Ht at each successive preschool year of age and, overall, were 2.04 and 2.40 cm taller for each unit increase in preschool L/Ht z-score (L/HAZ) (both p < 0.001). Coefficients were generally larger for 16-month follow-up measurements. The percent of young adult height attained by children with normal L/HAZ (>-1) increased from 38-40% mid-infancy to ∼ 69-74% by 6 years of age. By 3-6 years of age heights of stunted children (L/HAZ<-2) were consistently ∼ 4-7% lower in their young adult height versus normal statured children. There was no effect of preschool vitamin A receipt.

Conclusions: Shorter young children become shorter adults but predictive effects can vary by sex, age assessed, and may be influenced by year or season of measurement.

Keywords: Adult height; Child height; Linear growth; Nepal.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of Participants as Preschoolers (< 60 months) at Baseline (in 1989), and as Censused (in 2006) and Followed-up as Late Adolescents and Young Adults (in 2006–2008), Nepal Nutrition Intervention Project-Sarlahi, Nepal
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percent of Height at 16–23 Years of Age Attained by Year of Early Childhood Age at Baseline, by Sex and Preschool Length/Height for Age Z-score in a Population Cohort in the Terai of Nepal
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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