Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454-9110, USA.
Am J Hum Biol. 2010 May-Jun;22(3):336-47. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.20996.
The ubiquity and consequences of childhood growth stunting (<-2 SD in height-for-age Z score, HAZ) in rural areas of low-income nations has galvanized research into the reversibility of stunting, but the shortage of panel data has hindered progress. Using panel data from a native Amazonian society of foragers-farmers in Bolivia (Tsimane'), we estimate rates of catch-up growth for stunted children. One hundred forty-six girls and 158 boys 2 < or = age < or = 7 were measured annually during 2002-2006. Annual Delta height in cm and in HAZ were regressed separately against baseline stunting and control variables related to attributes of the child, mother, household, and village. Children stunted at baseline had catch-up growth rates 0.11 SD/year higher than their nonstunted age and sex peers, with a higher rate among children farther from towns. The rate of catch up did not differ by the child's sex. A 10% rise in household income and an additional younger sibling lowered by 0.16 SD/year and 0.53 SD/year the rate of growth. Results were weaker when measuring Delta height in cm rather than in HAZ. Possible reasons for catch-up growth include (a) omitted variable bias, (b) parental reallocation of resources to redress growth faltering, particularly if parents perceive the benefits of redressing growth faltering for child school achievement, and (c) developmental plasticity during this period when growth rates are most rapid and linear growth trajectories have not yet canalized.
农村地区儿童生长迟缓（身高年龄 Z 评分<-2SD，HAZ）普遍存在且后果严重，这促使人们研究生长迟缓的可逆转性，但缺乏面板数据阻碍了这一研究进展。我们利用玻利维亚（提斯曼）一个以狩猎采集为生的本土亚马逊社会的面板数据，来估计生长迟缓儿童的追赶生长速度。在 2002 年至 2006 年期间，每年对 146 名女孩和 158 名年龄在 2 至 7 岁之间的男孩进行测量。分别对基线时生长迟缓的儿童和与其相关的儿童、母亲、家庭和村庄特征的控制变量进行了年度身高差值（cm）和 HAZ 的回归分析。与同年龄、同性别的非生长迟缓儿童相比，基线时生长迟缓的儿童每年的追赶生长速度高出 0.11 个标准差，且距离城镇越远的儿童追赶生长速度越快。儿童追赶生长速度的性别差异并不明显。家庭收入增加 10%和多一个弟弟或妹妹，会使生长速度每年分别降低 0.16 和 0.53 个标准差。以身高差值（cm）而不是 HAZ 来衡量追赶生长速度时，结果会更弱。追赶生长的可能原因包括：（a）忽略变量偏差，（b）父母重新分配资源以纠正生长迟缓，尤其是当父母认为纠正生长迟缓对孩子的学业成绩有好处时，以及（c）在生长速度最快且线性生长轨迹尚未固定的时期，存在发育可塑性。
