Synthetic growth reference charts

Abstract

Distance standards of height (growth charts) tend to get out of date and must be actualized from time to time. The aim of the present meta‐analysis was to investigate characteristics of the cross sectional incremental pattern of body stature, evaluating the possibility of generating distance standards of height without the need for extensive de novo measurements. In view of the differences in growth in early and late childhood, we divided the total period of child development into the period between birth and the age of 6y, and between 6 and early adulthood (15 y in females, 18 y in males). With respect to birth length, we meta‐analysed 50 European and US American growth studies; with respect to growth in early childhood, 14 studies were analysed; and with respect to growth in late childhood, we meta‐analysed 40 male and 51 female growth studies, from 14 European countries and the USA. Variations in body stature were meta‐analysed in very large data samples, including the 1992 German birth cohort with more than 500 000 measurements of newborns, 10 000 measurements of 2‐y‐old German children, more than 500 000 measurements of German school children, and 6 large growth surveys of Japan and Czechoslovakia, with altogether more than 24 000 000 measurements. We found a rigid pattern of cross sectional body stature increment between birth and early adulthood that could be expressed by age‐specific linear regression coefficients. Body stature was found to be related between sexes. Male birth length correlated with female length (r= 0.933, p < 0.001, slope = 4.62, intercept = 0.89), stature of 6‐y‐old boys correlated with stature of 6‐y‐old girls (r= 0.96, p < 0.001, slope =1.05, intercept =‐6.75), and stature of 18‐y‐old boys correlated with stature of 15‐y‐old girls (r= 0.96, p < 0.001, slope = 0.90, intercept = 2.85). The developmental pace was also strongly related in both sexes. In conclusion, age‐specific linear regression coefficients can be utilized synthetically to generate distance standards for height (synthetic growth reference charts). Synthetic growth reference charts can help to actualize current growth charts without much additional effort, and they may also be used for populations for which autochthonous growth standards are not available. □Body stature, growth, growth study, human growth, synthetic growth reference chart