School of Government, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Región Metropolitana 7820436, Chile.
Department of Economics and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.
Am J Hum Biol. 2018 Jan;30(1). doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23059. Epub 2017 Sep 13.
We assessed associations between child stunting, recovery, and faltering with schooling and human capital skills in a native Amazonian society of horticulturalists-foragers (Tsimane').
We used cross-sectional data (2008) from 1262 children aged 6 to 16 years in 53 villages to assess contemporaneous associations between three height categories: stunted (height-for-age Z score, HAZ<-2), moderately stunted (-2 ≤ HAZ≤-1), and nonstunted (HAZ>-1), and three categories of human capital: completed grades of schooling, test-based academic skills (math, reading, writing), and local plant knowledge. We used annual longitudinal data (2002-2010) from all children (n = 853) in 13 villages to estimate the association between changes in height categories between the first and last years of measure and schooling and academic skills.
Stunting was associated with 0.4 fewer completed grades of schooling (∼24% less) and with 13-15% lower probability of showing any writing or math skills. Moderate stunting was associated with ∼20% lower scores in local plant knowledge and 9% lower probability of showing writing skills, but was not associated with schooling or math and writing skills. Compared with nonstunted children, children who became stunted had 18-21% and 15-21% lower probabilities of showing math and writing skills, and stunted children had 0.4 fewer completed grades of schooling. Stunted children who recovered showed human capital outcomes that were indistinguishable from nonstunted children.
The results confirm adverse associations between child stunting and human capital skills. Predictors of growth recovery and faltering can affect human capital outcomes, even in a remote, economically self-sufficient society.
我们评估了儿童发育迟缓、恢复和学习成绩不佳与园艺采集社会（提斯曼人）的学校教育和人力资本技能之间的关系。
我们使用了来自 53 个村庄的 1262 名 6 至 16 岁儿童的 2008 年横断面数据，评估了三种身高类别（发育迟缓、身高年龄 Z 分数< -2；中度发育迟缓，-2≤HAZ≤-1；非发育迟缓，HAZ>-1）和三种人力资本类别（完成的学业年级、基于测试的学术技能（数学、阅读、写作）和当地植物知识）之间的同期关系。我们使用来自 13 个村庄的所有儿童（n=853）的 2002-2010 年的年度纵向数据，估计身高类别在测量的第一和最后一年之间变化与学校教育和学术技能之间的关联。
发育迟缓与完成的学业年级少 0.4 级（约 24%的差异）和任何写作或数学技能的出现概率降低 13-15%有关。中度发育迟缓与当地植物知识的得分低 20%左右和写作技能的出现概率低 9%有关，但与学业或数学和写作技能无关。与非发育迟缓的儿童相比，发育迟缓的儿童表现出数学和写作技能的概率低 18-21%和 15-21%，并且完成的学业年级少 0.4 级。发育迟缓的儿童如果恢复，其人力资本结果与非发育迟缓的儿童没有区别。
这些结果证实了儿童发育迟缓与人力资本技能之间的不良关联。生长恢复和学习成绩不佳的预测因素可能会影响人力资本的结果，即使在一个偏远、自给自足的经济社会中也是如此。
