Secular Trends In Growth Among School Children of Shiraz (Southern Iran) Born in the Post-War Period

Abstract

Background:Secular trends in stature,weight and mid upper arm circumference(MUAC)of 2397 school children (1268 boys and 1129 girls) of the same age(6.5-11.5 years)and sex in representative samples from primary schools of Shiraz (southern Iran) at an interval of 15 years (1988 vs 2003)are reported.Methods:Cross-sectional weight,height and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) curves were created for both sexes.One sample t-tests were utilized to analyze differences between average height, weight and MUAC of the 1988 and 2003 samples (the values of the previous study treated as constant). Results: Both samples included children of various socio-economic backgrounds for both males and females of each age-class. There are significant positive secular trends in stature,weight and MUAC of children born in the post-war period sampled in 2003.These children are generally taller,heavier,and larger than their peers of 15 years earlier born pre- and during the imposed war period of Iraq against Iran.The 2003 sample shows less growth deficits in relation to the CDC reference data.Conclusion:The positive trend can be explained as the result of economic development and improvement of social and health indicators in Iran in the post-war period.

Keywords

• Secular Trend
• Growth
• Height
• Weight
• MUAC