Parental Education, Health Literacy and Children’s Height in Adult Life

Abstract

Abstract Background Adult’s body height has been positively associated with various health and social benefits. Studies have demonstrated that parental education is one of the key covariates of individual’s health and height in both childhood and adulthood. However, another important covariate of child’s health, parental functional literacy, has been largely overlooked in studies on height. The objective of this study was to analyse the associations between parents’ education, their health literacy and children’s adult body height. Methods We used data for 17,331 men and 21,909 women from the 2016 wave of the nationally representative Life in Transition Survey (LITS) conducted in 34 countries in Southern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Using ordinary least squares and Poisson regression models, we analysed the links between both mothers’ and fathers’ educational attainment, parental functional literacy - measured by the number of books in childhood homes - and individuals’ height, while also taking into account other available individual and contextual explanations of height which occurred either before respondents’ birth or during their childhood. Results Our results demonstrate that mothers’ educational attainment and parental functional literacy have strong independent associations with children’s adult height. Sufficient literacy skills of the parent may have positive effect on children’s growth even if parental education is low. These associations hold for both men and women and remain significant across time. Conclusions This study offers a unique contribution by tracking the long-term trends in height and its socio-demographic and socioeconomic explanations. Reported differences in individuals’ adult height were linked with early childhood living conditions, specifically, with mothers’ education and parental functional literacy. Key messages We track the long-term trends in height and its socio-demographic and socioe-conomic explanations. Regardless of the level of maternal education, parental functional literacy is a strong and consistent predictor of individuals’ height.