BACKGROUND: People from Asian populations are generally shorter than other ethnic groups. It is unknown if current universal height references are suitable for affluent South Asian children in the Netherlands. AIMS: To develop height-for-age charts for contemporary South Asian children aged 0-20 years living in the Netherlands, to evaluate secular trends, and to compare the charts with current Asian Indian, Dutch and WHO references. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A population-based study measured 3315 South Asian children aged 0-20 years between 2007-2010. Among this cohort, 6876 measurements were taken. Another 7388 measurements were taken of a historical cohort of 1078 children born between 1974-1976 (aged 0-18 years). RESULTS: An upward trend in height was observed for South Asian children living in the Netherlands between 1992-2010. The height-for-age charts of the South Asian historical cohort were similar to current Asian Indian charts. South Asian children in the Netherlands were shorter than their Dutch contemporaries at every age; and these differences increased further during adolescence. Compared to the WHO height-for-age references, there were considerable discrepancies in height, with curves intersecting twice. CONCLUSION: The discrepancies between the South Asian and Dutch and WHO height-for-age references indicate differences in growth patterns between the source populations.
BACKGROUND:People from Asian populations are generally shorter than other ethnic groups. It is unknown if current universal height references are suitable for affluent South Asian children in the Netherlands. AIMS: To develop height-for-age charts for contemporary South Asian children aged 0-20 years living in the Netherlands, to evaluate secular trends, and to compare the charts with current Asian Indian, Dutch and WHO references. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A population-based study measured 3315 South Asian children aged 0-20 years between 2007-2010. Among this cohort, 6876 measurements were taken. Another 7388 measurements were taken of a historical cohort of 1078 children born between 1974-1976 (aged 0-18 years). RESULTS: An upward trend in height was observed for South Asian children living in the Netherlands between 1992-2010. The height-for-age charts of the South Asian historical cohort were similar to current Asian Indian charts. South Asian children in the Netherlands were shorter than their Dutch contemporaries at every age; and these differences increased further during adolescence. Compared to the WHO height-for-age references, there were considerable discrepancies in height, with curves intersecting twice. CONCLUSION: The discrepancies between the South Asian and Dutch and WHO height-for-age references indicate differences in growth patterns between the source populations.
Entities:
Keywords:
Adolescent; child; growth and development; reference values
Authors: Kitiwan Rojnueangnit; Jing Xie; Alicia Gomes; Angela Sharp; Tom Callens; Yunjia Chen; Ying Liu; Meagan Cochran; Mary-Alice Abbott; Joan Atkin; Dusica Babovic-Vuksanovic; Christopher P Barnett; Melissa Crenshaw; Dennis W Bartholomew; Lina Basel; Gary Bellus; Shay Ben-Shachar; Martin G Bialer; David Bick; Bruce Blumberg; Fanny Cortes; Karen L David; Anne Destree; Anna Duat-Rodriguez; Dawn Earl; Luis Escobar; Marthanda Eswara; Begona Ezquieta; Ian M Frayling; Moshe Frydman; Kathy Gardner; Karen W Gripp; Concepcion Hernández-Chico; Kurt Heyrman; Jennifer Ibrahim; Sandra Janssens; Beth A Keena; Isabel Llano-Rivas; Kathy Leppig; Marie McDonald; Vinod K Misra; Jennifer Mulbury; Vinodh Narayanan; Naama Orenstein; Patricia Galvin-Parton; Helio Pedro; Eniko K Pivnick; Cynthia M Powell; Linda Randolph; Salmo Raskin; Jordi Rosell; Karol Rubin; Margretta Seashore; Christian P Schaaf; Angela Scheuerle; Meredith Schultz; Elizabeth Schorry; Rhonda Schnur; Elizabeth Siqveland; Amanda Tkachuk; James Tonsgard; Meena Upadhyaya; Ishwar C Verma; Stephanie Wallace; Charles Williams; Elaine Zackai; Jonathan Zonana; Conxi Lazaro; Kathleen Claes; Bruce Korf; Yolanda Martin; Eric Legius; Ludwine Messiaen Journal: Hum Mutat Date: 2015-08-21 Impact factor: 4.878