Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 113, Issue 3, September 1988, Pages 486-489
The Journal of Pediatrics

Original article
Altitude and childhood growth1

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3476(88)80633-4Get rights and content

To assess the possible influence of altitude on childhood growth in the United States, we used data collected by the Centers for Disease Control Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System from eight, mountain states to determine the height and weight status of children aged 5 years or younger enrolled in various public health programs between 1982 and 1984. The mean birth weight, height-for-age, weight-for-age, and weight-for-height indicators were found to decline significantly with increasing altitude, starting at an elevation >1500 m (p<0.001, anova). The reduction in growth was observed for all age groups and all birth weight groups studied. Part of the observed reduction in growth could be attributed to the lower birth weight of children born at higher altitude. However, the reduced growth status persisted after controlling for birth weight, suggesting the presence of an extrauterine growth retardation effect related to altitude.

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1

Presented in part at the Fifth International Hypoxia Symposium, Lake Louis, Alberta, Canada, 1987.

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