Household and schooling rather than diet offset the adverse associations of height with school competence and emotional disturbance among Taiwanese girls.

OBJECTIVE

Short stature may reflect health in early life and be an enduring disability. How birth weight, gender, household, elementary schooling and diet play a role in associations between stature and overall school competence (OSC) have been assessed.

DESIGN

The 2001-2002 Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT) for elementary schoolchildren (n 2274, 52·1 % boys) was linked to birth records. It provided sociodemographic, dietary quality, body compositional and school performance (as Scale for Assessing Emotional Disturbance, SAED; OSC as an SAED subscale) data. Lower birth weight was ≤15th percentile: 2850 g for boys and 2700 g for girls, and stature as z-scores for Taiwanese. Multivariable linear regression was used for relationships between OSC and stature. Trends in OSC by stature and school grade were assessed.

SETTING

The 2001-2002 NAHSIT for elementary schoolchildren.

PARTICIPANTS

Totally, 2274 schoolchildren aged 6-13 years.

RESULTS

Compared to normal height (-2< height for age z-score (HAZ) <2), shorter girls (HAZ ≤ -2) had a lower OSC (8·87 v. 10·5, P < 0·05) and taller girls (HAZ ≥ 2) had a better OSC (12·3 v. 10·5, P < 0·001). Maternal education and household income each contributed more than 5 % of OSC variance. OSC and HAZ among girls were positively associated and emotional disturbance negatively associated. Shortness-associated lower OSC underwent remediation with advancing school grade. Stature and OSC were not evidently related in boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Shorter stature can compromise OSC among school girls. The major determinants in shorter girls are less household income and limited parental education.