title: Adolescent Pregnancy and Attained Height among Black South African Girls: Matched-Pair Prospective Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The impact of adolescent pregnancy on offspring birth outcomes has been widely studied, but less is known about its impact on the growth of the young mother herself.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the association between adolescent pregnancy and attained height.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective birth cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cohort members followed from birth to age 20 y in Soweto, South Africa.
  
  
  METHODS
  From among 840 Black females with sufficient data, we identified 54 matched pairs, in which a girl who became pregnant before the age of 17 years was matched with a girl who did not have a pregnancy by age 20 y. Pairs were matched on age at menarche and height-for-age z scores in the year before the case became pregnant (mean 15.0 y).
  
  
  METHODS
  The two groups were compared with respect to attained height, measured at mean age 18.5 y.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age at conception was 15.9 years (range: 13.7 to 16.9 y). Mean height at matching was 159.4 cm in the adolescent pregnancy group and 159.3 cm in the comparison group (p = 0.3). Mean attained height was 160.4 cm in the adolescent pregnancy group and 160.3 cm in the comparison group (p = 0.7).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among Black females in Soweto, South Africa, adolescent pregnancy was not associated with attained height.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Health Sciences Program, Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Laney Graduate School, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.|MRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Lundeen
authors.affiliation: MRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Shane A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Norris
authors.affiliation: Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Reynaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martorell
authors.affiliation: Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Parminder S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Suchdev
authors.affiliation: Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Neil K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.affiliation: MRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.|DST-NRF Centre of Excellence of Human Development, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.affiliation: MRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.|Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Aryeh D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044383:Black People; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013019:South Africa