Somatic indicators of secular dynamics in population monitoring of growth processes of children and adolescents

Abstract

Introduction. Temporal dynamics of peak height velocity and sexual height dimorphism are under discussion.

Materials and methods. The study embraces data of growth studies from million-plus cities of Russia – Novosibirsk, Samara (Kuybishev), St. Petersburg (Leningrad) through the historical interval 1950s–2010s. The number of each age/sex group is not less than 100 persons. To fix the age (in years) and intensity (in cm) of peak height velocity the patterns of height year increments were smoothed using least square method. To estimate the value of sexual height dimorphism Kullback divergence was used. Correlations of somatic parameters under discussion with the year of study were calculated using additional data of growth studies from the block of industrial cities of Russia and former USSR (literary data).

Results. The age at peak height velocity through half century interval as compared to the samples of 1950s–1960s decrease: Novosibirsk boys 14,25–13,88, girls 12,70–11,74 years; Samara boys 14,45–11,79, girls 12,64–11,61 years. The intensity of peak height velocity has the opposite tendency to increase: Novosibirsk boys 5,75–7,00 cm, girls 5,55–6,3/6,05 cm; St-Petersburg boys 5,94–6,85 cm, girls 6,04–6,5 cm. The least values of sexual height dimorphism in Novosibirsk and St Petersburg belong to the samples of 1950s–1960s, the highest – to the samples of «manifest» accelerators of 1970s in all regions under discussion. The year of study reveals high positive correlations with the height of 17-year-old boys (0,74), height of 17-year-old girls (0,61) and standardized sexual height dimorphism (0,64). No associations of age and intensity of peak height velocity with the years of study were fixed.

Conclusion. The most delayed and less intensive peak height velocity of samples, examined in 1950s-1960s, may be connected with the long-term consequences of Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 years. High positive correlations of height of 17-year-old boys and girls and sexual height dimorphism with the year of study reflect the continuity of the phenomenon of the secular increase of height, having suprapopulation character. The absence of correlations of the age and intensity of peak height velocity with the year of study witness to the great «tactical» local variability in the mechanisms of adaptation of population. Peak height velocity and sexual height dimorphism are significant indicators of secular trends in population monitoring through the ascending period of ontogenesis.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University

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