Abstract
ObjectivesTo study trends in height of Turkish and Moroccan immigrant children living in The Netherlands, to investigate the association between height and background characteristics in these children, and to calculate height-for-age-references data for these groups.DesignNationwide cross-sectional data collection from children aged 0 to 18 years by trained professionals in 1997 and 2009. The study population consisted of 2,822 Turkish 2,779 Moroccan, and 13,705 Dutch origin children in 1997and 2,548 Turkish, 2,594 Moroccan, and 11,255 Dutch origin children in 2009. Main outcome measures: Mean height in cm, and mean height standard deviation scores.ResultsIn 2009, mean height at the age of 18y was similar for Turkish and Moroccan children: 177 cm for boys and 163 cm for girls, which was 2 to 3 cm taller than in 1997. Still, Turkish and Moroccan adolescents were 5.5 cm (boys) to 7 cm (girls) shorter than their Dutch peers. No significant differences were found in mean height standard deviation scores across the educational level of the parents, geographical region, primary language spoken at home, and immigrant generation.ConclusionsWhile the secular height increase in Dutch children came to a halt, the trend in Turkish and Moroccan children living in The Netherlands continued. However, large differences in height between Turkish and Moroccan children and Dutch children remain. We found no association with the background characteristics. We recommend the use of the new growth charts for children of Turkish and Moroccan origin who have a height-for-age below -2SD on the growth chart for Dutch children.
Highlights
Secular trends of height have been extensively documented in many populations
Origin-specific growth charts for these groups have been made available. These charts can be used to evaluate height of children of Turkish or Moroccan origin who are considered short on the regular Dutch growth references, which are based on children of Dutch origin
We describe the trend in height since 1997 of children of Turkish and Moroccan origin living in The Netherlands
Summary
Secular trends of height have been extensively documented in many populations. data on the development of height of immigrant populations over time are scarce. Children of immigrants typically differ in height from autochthonous children, as well as from their peers living in their parent’s country of origin [2,3,4,5]. At the age of 18 years, children of Turkish and Moroccan origin were 9 to 10 cm shorter than their Dutch peers For this reason, origin-specific growth charts for these groups have been made available. Since 1997, the height of children of Dutch origin has not increased any further [6] It is not yet known if this is the case in children of Turkish and Moroccan origin. If height of these children converges towards the Dutch growth patterns, the question arises whether origin-specific charts are still needed
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