Longitudinal analysis of infantile growth in an urban area of Lahore, Pakistan.

Supine length has been registered longitudinally in 302 infants surviving to at least two years of age in an urban area of Lahore, Pakistan. According to the "ICP-growth model", normal linear growth can be represented during this age period by a combination of a sharply decelerating Infancy component with the addition of a slowly decelerating Childhood component, the latter acting from the second half of the first postnatal year. Between birth and 24 months of age the Pakistani children grew about 7.5 cm less than expected according to the Swedish standard. The difference in the gain was mainly related to the late onset of the Childhood component found in 56% of the infants. The onset of the Childhood component in the Pakistani children occurred on an average some 5 months later than in the Swedish controls, which explains the age-dependent reduction in the gain at about 1 year of age. Children with late onset showed no "catch-up growth" during the observation period after the onset. This might very well indicate the functional implications of stunted height in populations of developing countries.