Influence of parental height and sociodemographic factors on adolescent height in Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the influence of parental stature and environmental factors on the stature of adolescents from a national survey sample.


METHODS
A nationwide survey was carried out in 1989 among a stratified, two-stage, probability cluster sample of 14,455 Brazilian households to provide estimates of anthropometric deficits for urban and rural populations from the five regions of the country. Stature was measured for 5681 boys and girls age 14-18 years, 78.9% of their fathers, and 93.8% of their mothers. Associations between explanatory variables and adolescent height in centimeters were assessed by fitting multiple linear models to the data.


RESULTS
The predicted effects of parental stature and environmental conditions together sum to a total of 17 cm when comparing a boy born to parents with stature below the median and living in the underdeveloped rural Northeast region (1.56 m) with one born to parents with stature above the median and living in the partially industrialized urban South region (1.73 m). For girls, this estimated difference was 12 cm. For boys, the overall influence of parents' stature was 10 cm (R(2)= 0.40) and the sociodemographic factors had an overall influence of 7 cm (R(2) = 0.29). For girls, these values were 7 cm (R(2)= 0.35) for the parental influence and 5 cm (R(2) = 0.11) for the sociodemographic factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Mother's stature had the same influence on adolescent's stature as father's stature. Independent of parental stature, environmental factors have a strong influence on adolescent stature, particularly among boys.
Sichieri
R
R
Instituto de Medicina Social, Departamento de Medicina Social, Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Taddei
J A
JA
Everhart
J E
JE
D000293:Adolescent / Q000502:physiology*; D000886:Anthropometry; D015982:Bias; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D001938:Brazil; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012423:Rural Health; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health