Early-life environmental exposures and childhood growth: A comparison of statistical methods.

ABSTRACT: There is a growing literature that suggests environmental exposure during key developmental periods could have harmful impacts on growth and development of humans. Understanding and estimating the relationship between early-life exposure and human growth is vital to studying the adverse health impacts of environmental exposure. We compare two statistical tools, mixed-effects models with interaction terms and growth mixture models, used to measure the association between exposure and change over time within the context of non-linear growth and non-monotonic relationships between exposure and growth. We illustrate their strengths and weaknesses through a real data example and simulation study. The data example, which focuses on the relationship between phthalates and the body mass index grow

SUBMITTER: Heggeseth BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6296561 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature