title: Prevalence of Growth Disorders in a Nationally Representative Sample of Iranian Adolescents According to Socioeconomic Status: The CASPIAN-III Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aims to assess the prevalence of growth disorders among a nationally representative sample of Iranian adolescents according to the socioeconomic status (SES) of their living area.
  
  
  METHODS
  This nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted among a representative sample of 5624 adolescents aged 10-18 years. They were selected by multistage cluster sampling from 27 provinces of Iran. Subnational classification of the country was based on geography and social class of each region. Analysis of variance and Chi-square tests were used to compare the prevalence of growth disorders according to sex and SES of the living regions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean and standard deviation for body mass index was 19.42 (4.09) kg/m(2), with a significant trend from the Southeast region with lowest SES to the Central part with highest SES (p(trend) < 0.001). The prevalence of obesity, combined overweight and obesity, as well as abdominal adiposity increased with a significant trend from low to high SES (all p(trend) < 0.001, except for girls' height, p(trend) = 0.003). The opposite direction was documented for the prevalence of underweight and short stature, with the highest frequencies in the Southeast (lowest SES) and the lowest in Central part (highest SES).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Excess weight was more prevalent in high SES regions, whereas underweight and short stature were more prevalent in low SES regions. These findings underscore the necessity of implementing evidence-based health promotion programs and preventive strategies according to SES.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahreynian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Esmaeil
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Motlagh
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran; Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qorbani
authors.affiliation: Chronic Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heshmat
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Gelayol
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ardalan
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. Electronic address: kelishadi@med.mui.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Roya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kelishadi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight; D015995:Prevalence; D012923:Social Class; D013851:Thinness
keywords: adolescents; growth disorders; obesity; short stature; socioeconomic status; underweight