title: Secular changes of pelvis in Croatian perinatal women.
abstract: The goal of the study was to examine secular changes of pelvic size in parturient women over the 25-year period from 1985 to 2009. Data were collected from randomly selected patients' medical records of 2414 parturient women from four time periods (1985-1986, 1992-1994, 2000-2002, and 2007-2009). Three different pelvic measurements were collected: distantia spinarum, distantia cristarum, and distantia trochanterica. Regression analyses were conducted in order to test predictors of pelvic dimensions. The multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to test changes in pelvic dimensions over time, with body mass index (BMI) as a covariate. The average size of distantia spinarum, distantia cristarum, and distantia trochanterica was 249.3mm (SD=13.7), 277.9 mm (SD=15.6), and 318.3mm (SD=19.6), respectively. Pelvic dimensions were all positively related to woman's height and pre-pregnancy weight. After controlling for the BMI, there were significant changes in pelvic dimensions over the 25-year period and it was shown that distantia spinarum, cristarum, and trochanterica all increased (F [3,2408]=16.4, p<0.01), especially from the 1992-1994 period to the present. To conclude, parallel with secular changes of weight and height in parturient women, changes in bones are also evident. The size of pelvis in parturient women had significantly enlarged over the 25-year period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University Hospital Center 'Sisters of Mercy', Vinogradska 29, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia. Electronic address: hsoljacicvranes@gmail.com.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soljačić Vraneš
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University Hospital Center 'Sisters of Mercy', Vinogradska 29, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakić Radoš
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D017523:Croatia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009790:Occupations; D036801:Parturition; D010384:Pelvic Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult