title: Growth pattern from birth to adulthood in African pygmies of known age.
abstract: The African pygmy phenotype stems from genetic foundations and is considered to be the product of a disturbance in the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor (GH-IGF) axis. However, when and how the pygmy phenotype is acquired during growth remains unknown. Here we describe growth patterns in Baka pygmies based on two longitudinal studies of individuals of known age, from the time of birth to the age of 25 years. Body size at birth among the Baka is within standard limits, but their growth rate slows significantly during the first two years of life. It then more or less follows the standard pattern, with a growth spurt at adolescence. Their life history variables do not allow the Baka to be distinguished from other populations. Therefore, the pygmy phenotype in the Baka is the result of a change in growth that occurs during infancy, which differentiates them from East African pygmies revealing convergent evolution.
authors.affiliation: UPR 2147 CNRS, 44 rue de l'Amiral Mouchez, 75014 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Fernando V Ramirez
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Rozzi
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1018, Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health and UMRS 1018, University of Paris-Sud, 16 avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier, 94807 Villejuif cedex, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koudou
authors.affiliation: Collections d'Anthropologie, Musée de l'Homme, MNHN, 75116 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Froment
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche St-Antoine UMRS-938; Inserm; UPMC-Paris VI; Hôpital Armand Trousseau-APHP, 26 Avenue du Docteur Arnold Netter, 75012, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Le Bouc
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Team 'Early Origin of the Child's Health and Development' (ORCHAD) and University Paris-Sud, Faculty of Pharmacy, 91400 Orsay, France.
authors.forename: Jérémie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Botton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D001827:Body Height / Q000208:ethnology*; D049628:Body Size / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D057238:Growth Charts; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D055815:Young Adult