Intergenerational transmission of height in a historical population: From taller mothers to larger offspring at birth (and as adults).

ABSTRACT: Changes in growth and height reflect changes in nutritional status and health. The systematic surveillance of growth can suggest areas for interventions. Moreover, phenotypic variation has a strong intergenerational component. There is a lack of historical family data that can be used to track the transmission of height over subsequent generations. Maternal height is a proxy for conditions experienced by one generation that relates to the health/growth of future generations. Cross-sectional/cohort studies have shown that shorter maternal height is closely associated with lower birth weight of offspring. We analyzed the maternal height and offspring weight at birth in the maternity hospital in Basel, Switzerland, from 1896 to 1939 (N = ∼12,000) using generalized additive models (GAMs

SUBMITTER: Floris J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10306274 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature