title: Postmenarche growth: cohort study among indigenous and non-indigenous Chilean adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In Chile, indigenous and non-indigenous schoolchildren have the same stature when they begin school but indigenous adults are shorter, indicating the importance of analyzing growth during puberty. The aim of this study was to compare the growth of indigenous and non-indigenous girls during the 36 months after menarche in Chile's Araucanía Region.
  
  
  METHODS
  A concurrent cohort study was conducted to compare growth in the two ethnic groups, which were comprised of 114 indigenous and 126 non-indigenous girls who recently experienced menarche and were randomly selected. Height was measured at menarche and at 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months post-menarche. General linear models were used to analyze growth and a generalized estimating equation model was used to compare height at 36 months post-menarche.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At menarche, the Z-score of height/age was less for indigenous than non-indigenous girls (-0.01 vs. -0.61, p < 0.001). Indigenous girls grew at a slower rate than non-indigenous girls (6.5 vs. 7.2 cm, p = 0.02), and height at 36-months post-menarche reached -0.82 vs. -0.35 cm (p <0.001). In an adjusted model at 36 months post-menarche, indigenous girls were 1.6 cm shorter than non-indigenous girls (95% confidence interval: -3.13 to -0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The height of indigenous girls at menarche was lower than that of non-indigenous girls and they subsequently grew less, maintaining the gap between the two groups. At the end of the follow-up period, the indigenous girls were shorter than their non-indigenous peers.
authors: Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Santiago, Chile. hamigo@med.uchile.cl.
authors: Hugo
authors: H
authors: Amigo
authors: Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Santiago, Chile. macarena.lara.m@gmail.com.
authors: Macarena
authors: M
authors: Lara
authors: Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Santiago, Chile. pbustos@med.uchile.cl.
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: Bustos
authors: Department of Public Health, Universidad de la Frontera, Temuco, Chile. sergio.munoz.n@ufrontera.cl.
authors: Sergio
authors: S
authors: Muñoz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile / Q000208:ethnology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008572:Menarche / Q000208:ethnology*; D044382:Population Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
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