four_decades_of_socioeconomic_inequality_and_secular_change_in_the_physical_growth_of_guatemalans.pdf (918.59 kB)
Download fileFour decades of socio-economic inequality and secular change in the physical growth of Guatemalans
journal contribution
posted on 2019-12-09, 11:06 authored by Liina Mansukoski, Will JohnsonWill Johnson, Katherine Brooke-WavellKatherine Brooke-Wavell, J Andres Galvez-Sobral, Luis Furlán, Tim J Cole, Barry BoginOBJECTIVE: To investigate changes in socio-economic inequalities in growth in height, weight, BMI and grip strength in children born during 1955-1993 in Guatemala, a period of marked socio-economic-political change. DESIGN: We modelled longitudinal data on height, weight, BMI and hand grip strength using Super-Imposition by Translation and Rotation (SITAR). Internal Z-scores summarising growth size, timing and intensity (peak growth velocity, e.g. cm/year) were created to investigate inequalities by socio-economic position (SEP; measured by school attended). Interactions of SEP with date of birth were investigated to capture secular changes in inequalities. SETTING: Urban and peri-urban schools in the region of Guatemala City, Guatemala. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 40 484 children and adolescents aged 3-19 years of Ladino and Maya ancestry (nobservations 157 067). RESULTS: The difference in height (SITAR size) between lowest and highest SEP decreased from -2·0 (95 % CI -2·2, -1·9) sd to -1·4 (95 % CI -1·5, -1·3) sd in males, and from -2·0 (95 % CI -2·1, -1·9) sd to -1·2 (95 % CI -1·3, -1·2) sd in females over the study period. Inequalities also reduced for weight, BMI and grip strength, due to greater secular increases in lowest-SEP groups. The puberty period was earlier and shorter in higher-SEP individuals (earlier SITAR timing and higher SITAR intensity). All SEP groups showed increases in BMI intensity over time. CONCLUSIONS: Inequality narrowed between the 1960s and 1990s. The lowest-SEP groups were still >1 sd shorter than the highest. Risks remain for reduced human capital and poorer population health for urban Guatemalans.
Funding
The Osk Huttunen Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Quantifying healthy birth, growth and development knowledge integration, grant number OPP1125811)
UK Medical Research Council (MRC) supported T.J.C. (grant number MR/R010692/1)
MRC New Investigator Research Grant (grant number MR/P023347/1)
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences