Long-term changes in the body height in population of Perm (1878–2024)

Abstract

Introduction. The accumulation of regional data on the expression of secular trends in growth contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon. The present study focuses on the height of the population of Perm, a large industrial, administrative, and cultural center in the Urals. This work aimed to systematize data on changes in height and growth processes in children and young adults of Perm from 1878 to 2024.

Materials and methods. The analysis includes data on the height of school-age children collected by different authors during 8 cross-sectional surveys, conducted between 1884 and 2024. Data for 2018 and 2024 were collected by the authors. Additionally, we used data on the height of young (20-25 years old) adults from 1878 to 2003.

We examined the differences in height between coevals in different datasets and tracked the manifestations of growth spurt in these datasets. The annual increase in height was estimated from differences in height between successive age groups within and between datasets.

Results and Discussion. In the period from 1963 to 1981, children aged 8, 11, 14, and 16 years had the highest average annual rate of height increment. In 1993 and 2018, a decreasing trend was observed in this rate. This growth deceleration also manifested in the smaller height increase of women born in 1984-86 as compared to those born earlier.

The prepubertal growth spurt is only noticeable in the 1878 dataset in boys 10-11 and girls 10 years old. Apparently, the biological age of “first childhood” occurred later in the 19th century than it is today. The pubertal peak of height gain in 1963-2018 varied in boys at 13-14 and in girls at 11-13 years of age, but in 1878 it was shown later in girls at the age of 14.

Conclusion. In the period from 1963 to 1981, children aged 8, 11, 14, and 16 years had the highest average annual rate of height increment. In 1993 and 2018, a decreasing trend was observed in this rate. This growth deceleration also manifested in the smaller height of women born in 1984-86 as compared to those born earlier.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University (Kozlov A.I., Vershubskaya G.G.), within the framework of the Basic Research Program at HSE University, and the State assignment of Research Center for Medical Genetics.

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