Decrease In Stature Research Articles

Spinal shrinkage in fast bowling.

The load on the spine during physical activities may be reflected in decreases in stature, referred to as shrinkage. Spinal shrinkage reflects the creep behaviour of the intervertebral discs and vertebral end-plate compression when loaded. This study was concerned with shrinkage induced during practices corresponding to fast bowling in cricket, an activity associated with risk of back injury. Eight cricketers (aged 19-24 years), all free of back pain, acted as subjects. They were first trained for measurement on the stadiometer until 10 consecutive recordings of stature with SD < 0.5 mm could be produced. A 20 min period of standing was used for standardization purposes prior to experimental work which took place indoors between 12:00 and 16:00 hours. The experimental conditions were (i) standing for 30 min; (ii) bowling for 30 min at a rate of once every 30 s from a 14 m run-up; (iii) a run-up (without bowling) of 14 m for 30 min once every 30 s; (iv) inverted at an angle of 50 degrees for 5 min; (v) inverted at an angle of 50 degrees for 5 min prior to bowling once every 30 s for 30 min from a 14 m run-up. These conditions were presented to the subject on five separate days. Stature was not affected by the 30 min standing, used for control purposes (mean shrinkage 0.1 mm). Bowling caused a decrease in stature of 2.30 (+/- 1.58) mm in 30 min (p < 0.05). Stature did not decrease significantly (mean shrinkage 0.29 mm) when only the run-up was performed (p > 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Components of adult height and height loss. Secular trend and effects of aging in women in the DOM project.

Between 1984 and 1987, adult height, sitting height, arm span, and iliac crest height were measured in 13,386 women of the DOM project. Combined effects of secular trends between cohorts born in 1911 to 1945 and aging between ages 40 to 74 years showed a decrease in stature of 4.9 +/- 0.3 cm (mean +/- standard error of mean) and in sitting height of 3.9 +/- 0.2 cm. Height and sitting height diminished but no effect of aging on arm span was found in 380 women measured again after 5 years. When arm span and iliac crest height did not change with age, they reflected a secular trend (1.6 +/- 0.3 cm and 0.5 +/- 0.3 cm). This implies an age-related decline in stature of -3 cm in 35 years.

An Improved Method of Stature Measurement for Quantitative Determination of Spinal Loading

A refined procedure for measuring stature is described; this provides a reproducibility error of 0.4 mm. The procedure accommodates the natural diurnal change in stature and permits estimation of the net stature change caused by a change in spinal loading. A series of measurements done with a cohort of 20 young and middle-aged persons showed that stature decrease was related linearly to the quasi-static load on the spine. The coefficient of proportionality between load and height loss was inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area of the lumbar discs. This method was used to investigate sitting postures and whole-body vibration to demonstrate the applicability of the procedure to quantify spinal strain (and, therefore, estimate comparative loading) in applied ergonomics. Sitting invariably led to an increase in stature, regardless of the type of chair used or the posture maintained. Whole-body vibration did not induce any loss of stature. Thus, this novel approach was able to enhance understanding of spinal behavior under different loading conditions.

Further observations on diurnal variation in standing height

A total of 328 daily assessments of standing height were made on one boy between the ages of 12.83 and 13.95 years; 292 of these were replicates to establish reliability of measurement. On 300 days, measurements were taken in the morning within 1/2 h of rising (which varied between 0700 and 1100 h) and repeated before bed on the same day, between 2100 and 2300 h. The standard error of measurement from 292 duplicate measurements was 0.12 cm. A mean of 0.98 +/- 0.2 cm decrease in stature occurred during the course of the day. A similar decrease was found on three occasions after 2-3 h naps.

Corrections for Age in Estimating Older Adults' Stature from Long Bones

Stature estimates based on long bone measurements require a correction factor to compensate for stature decrease in older people. Such a correction should exclude the effect of any secular trend in stature and reflect the age at which stature begins to decrease, sex differences, and the increasing rate of change with age. Stature correction which meet these requirements for ages 46 through 85, based upon two recent large-scale longitudinal anthropometric studies, are provided in tabular form.

The effect of height on family income.

The effect of height on earnings of adult males sampled in the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1976-1980, was examined. Data were collected using the multistage probability sampling method. Information was available on medical history, physical examination, anthropometric dimensions, diet, and sociodemographic characteristics. Complete information was available on 4,563 males, aged 20-65 years. The correlation between family income and height was low (r = 0.13, P = 0.001). There was a secular trend for increasing mean height over time, so that younger individuals were taller than older ones even after correction for the decrease in stature caused by aging. After stratifying by age and race, education and marital status, but not height, were significantly associated with total family income. The weight-height ratio was significantly related to income of Whites but not of nonwhites. White males in the highest income category were significantly taller, heavier, more adipose, had higher levels of education, and were more often married than were their lowest income white counterparts. Among nonwhites, marital status and education alone differentiated highest from lowest income nonwhite males. Thus, at least for White males, appearance, that is, adiposity, together with education and marital status, are major factors relating to income.

Estimation of Stature from Intact Long Bones of Chinese Males

ABSTRACTSimple and multiple regression equations for estimating stature from one or more limb bones based on sample of 472 recent male Chinese from nine provinces in the People's Republic of China are presented. The subjects, largely selected from forensic cases between 1976 and 1978, range in age between 21 and 80 years. The data were recorded by trained medico-legal experts. No significant decrease in stature with increasing age was observed. Differences in predicting stature with respect to side are minimal. Lower limb predictive formulae are more highly correlated with stature and multiple limb bones are the best predictor of stature. The limb-trunk proportions of the Chinese regression equations are similar td those reported for American whites and Negroes. These new equations provide much more reliable method for estimating stature of Chinese skeletal remains than has been available hitherto.

Anthropometry in Martin-Bell syndrome.

Thirty anthropometric measurements were analyzed in 147 adults with Martin-Bell syndrome (MBS) (56 men and 91 women) and in a random sample of 108 normal women and 111 men. Results of the univariate comparison of the age, height, or weight-adjusted variables between MBS and normal individuals of either sex indicated that a decrease in stature, in upper limb length, and in upper face height, and an increase in jaw length, chest circumference, and waist width occurred in both affected men and in heterozygous women. While the increase in ear height and breadth and in hypermobility of finger joints and decrease in palm width and bigonial diameter occurred only in affected men, increased bispinal and bitrochanteric diameters, upper arm circumference, and palm and wrist widths were characteristic deviations in heterozygous women. Multivariate analysis in the form of principal components showed some differences in the pattern of interrelationships in individual measures between MBS and normal individuals. In particular, and in contrast with both normal groups, height and weight tended to load on separate components (as did head and midfacial measures) in MBS individuals. A discriminant function based on all body measurements included in this study resulted in almost complete separation of discriminant scores of normal from those of MBS men and in good separation of the scores from normal and heterozygous women. Classification rates based on these functions were from 95% in men to 85% in women. These already high classification rates may be further improved mainly by enlarging the samples and including some other category of traits such as dermatoglyphic measurements.

Reproductive ecology of four subtidal red algae

The reproduction and stature of the red algae Callophyllis cristata (C. Ag.) Kuetz., Membranoptera alata (Huds.) Stackh., Phycodrys rubens (Huds.) Batt., and Ptilota serrata Kuetz. were recorded from subtidal populations at Appledore Island, Maine, U.S.A., with respect to time and depth. Only Membranoptera alata exhibited a conspicuous seasonal fluctuation of reproduction. A vertical gradient of reproduction was evident, with reduced levels of reproduction in shallow populations of Phycodrys rubens and Ptilota serrata, as well as deep populations of Phycodrys rubens, Membranoptera alata and Callophyllis cristata. Differential stratification of the reproductive phases of Ptilota serrata occurred with higher frequencies of tetrasporic plants in deep populations and of cystocarpic plants in shallow populations. In contrast, the haploid and diploid plants of the other three species showed similar distributional patterns. Membranoptera alata, Phycodrys rubens, and Callophyllis cristata showed a conspicuous decrease in stature during maximum reproduction.

The effects of aging and secular trend on adult stature in rural western Ireland.

Cross-sectional data, consisting of anthropometric measurements for 347 adults males and 261 adult females in western Ireland measured during the 1930s, were used to determine the effects of aging and secular change upon stature. Estimates of statural loss due to aging were obtained using partial regression of stature on age while controlling for subischial length, and regression of the difference between observed stature and maximum predicted stature on age. Males show the effects of aging to a greater extent than do females. After correction for the effects of aging, the adjusted values of stature were progressed on age to estimate secular trend of stature. For males, there is a general increase of stature with time, excepting those born around 1878, while females generally show random variation with time. Both male and female adjusted stature decrease sharply around 1878, for which alternative historical explanations are proposed, relating to differential migration and survival.

PRESENT STATUS OF ESTROGEN TREATMENT FOR PREVENTION OF POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS

Although both men and women tend to lose bane mass after age 40 the average rate of loss is thrice as great in women with average reduction in the womans skeletal mass amounting to 30% by age 70. Postmenopausal osteoporosis occurs in about 25% of postmenopausal women usuallyby age 60. It is characterized by evidence of decalcification of bone tissue; decrease in stature; and kyphosis. Severe joint pains eventually ensue along with infirmities associated with multiple fractures. The interplay between the individuals osteoblastic (deposition of osteoid) and osteoclastic (resorptive) activaities in the bone modelling processes is influenced by many factors such as estrogens; androgens; thyroid and growth hormones all of which increase bone mass and parathyroid hormone and glucocorticoids which decrease bone mass. Estrogens affect the calcification process by stimulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus; by stimulating the activity of osteoblasts; and by inhibiting the activity of osteoclasts. Diagnosis of osteoporosis must be established on the basis of clinical examination and on laboratory and radiologic findings. Some of the methods used to measure bone mass include radiographic densiometry; morphometry; x-ray spectrophotometry; and total body neutron activation analysis. Estrogen replacement therapy has been found to protect against postmenopausal bone loss. The carcinogenic potential of such therapy is yet to be resolved. As osteoporosis is a serious public health concern large-scale prospective studies should be done to determine the value of estrogen replacement therapy in preventing age-related fracture incidences as well as risk factors associated with such long-term treatment.

Familial proximal renal tubular acidosis: A distinct clinical entity

We have studied a family in which nine members present hyperchloremic acidosis with normal plasma creatinine and good ability to acidify urine. Renal functions, other than bicarbonate wasting, are normal, which identifies the condition as a pure form of proximal renal tubular acidosis. The acidosis persists into adult life and appears to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. All affected members are asymptomatic and the only peculiar finding is a decrease in stature. No hypercalciuria was detected, and no evidence of rickets or osteomalacia was found by x-ray studies. We consider these findings characteristic of a familial trait different from that in previously reported cases of renal tubular acidosis.

Diurnal variation in stature and sitting height in 12–14-year-old boys

1. Measurements of stature and sitting height were made at 0930 and 1400 h on 19 boys aged 12-14 years with the "stretching upward" technique. 11 different boys were similarly measured at 1000 and 1700 h. 2. The average decrease in stature from 0930 to 1400 h was 2.0 mm and from 1000 to 1700 h was 4.6 mm. The corresponding values for sitting height were 2.0 mm and 2.8 mm. 3. No strong evidence for individual differences in diurnal change was found. 4. The standard error of stature measurement, estimated from duplicate measurements taken five minutes apart by the same observer in the afternoon sessions, was +/- 1.8 mm.

The significance of stature as a clinical measurement of ageing.

Abstract: A study was made of 140 women (age range, 30 to 94 years) selected at random in a large psychiatric hospital, to determine changes in stature after maturity and the correlation of such age‐associated changes with various body measurements. It was found that:1. There is a statistically significant decrease in stature with age.2. The ratio of body length to armspan is a convenient method for assessing the amount of height loss with age.3. The rate of decrease in stature is about 1.3 cm per age decade.4. Loss of stature with age is best correlated with osteoporosis (metacarpal index) but is also correlated, less significantly, with skinfold thickness on the dorsum of the hands.5. Loss of stature with age is not importantly correlated with osteoarthrosis, as determined by changes in joints of the hand.