An assessment of the effects of minor childhood illness on growth in height and weight.
The effects of common illnesses on the growth of otherwise healthy and well-nourished children living in developed nations have long been assumed to be of negligible consequence. Verifying this assumption is difficult, however, due to the complexity of synergistic relationships between growth variables and the general paucity of appropriate data bases. The present research readdresses this question using a large well-documented longitudinal sample from Colorado. Results of this analysis for associations between illness and growth variables indicate greater stress due to illness during early childhood and greater stress among boys than girls. The results also support the contention, however, that episodes of common childhood illness have neither a major impact on growth nor a lasting effect on long-term growth potential in a well-nourished population living in a developed nation.
D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D003139:Common Cold / Q000150:complications; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male