Secular trend in height in Al Ain-United Arab Emirates.

Correlation between cycles in human stature and those in economic variables is well established. A recent review of international trends in this area provided information from most parts of the world but none on Arabs in the Middle East or more specifically the gulf region. The United Arab Emirates experienced a transformation in economic and social life followed the discovery of oil in the late 1960s and the wealth that it generated. No data is available on human growth at this period of time because its population never had health services prior to the 1970s. A study on conventional cardiovascular risk factors in 2004-2005 included 817 randomly selected national adults (> or =18 years) from both genders. The relationship between height and age in this study showed both men and women have increased in height with time demonstrating the secular change in height most likely a result of changing socioeconomic factors.