International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
PopDev Consultancy Ltd., London, UK.
J Glob Health. 2023 Sep 29;13:07006. doi: 10.7189/jogh.13.07006.
Depending on race, ethnicity, and region, genetic variants determine human height by 65% to 80%, while the remaining variance of 20% to 35% is influenced by nutrition and other individual or environmental exposures in the early years of life. An improvement in nutrition and health in the early years in a population underprivileged in health and nutrition will likely increase the group's average height. Due to outstanding improvements in these areas in recent decades, we hypothesised that the average height of Bangladeshi women has increased. Moreover, because pregnancy at an early age affects women's health and nutrition, we hypothesised that women who began childbearing early would experience growth retardation compared to women who had pregnancies at a later age.
We used data from five national surveys conducted between 2004 and 2018 that collected height data from ever-married women aged 15-49 years. We analysed the height of women aged 20-29 years (born between 1974 and 1998) and examined the mean height by birth years, age at first birth (AFB), economic status, religion and region. We conducted multiple linear regression models, controlling for the differential effects of the socio-demographic characteristics on women's height over time and by AFB.
The average height of women born between 1974 and 1998 significantly increased by 0.03 cm annually, with fluctuations between 150.3 and 151.6 cm. We also found an association between age at childbearing and height in adulthood - women who began childbearing before age 17 were approximately one centimetre shorter in adulthood than those who began childbearing at a later age.
We found evidence of an increasing trend in women's height in Bangladesh and an inhibiting effect of early teenage childbearing on attaining the potential growth of women. The findings call for further studies to investigate early childbearing and its consequences on women's and their children's growth in diverse settings, considering socio-cultural customs influencing early marriage and childbearing.
根据种族、民族和地区的不同，遗传变异决定了人类身高的 65%至 80%，而其余 20%至 35%的差异则受到生命早期营养和其他个体或环境暴露的影响。在健康和营养状况较差的人群中，如果早年的营养和健康状况得到改善，那么该群体的平均身高可能会增加。由于近几十年来这些方面取得了显著进步，我们假设孟加拉国女性的平均身高有所增加。此外，由于未成年怀孕会影响女性的健康和营养，我们假设与较晚怀孕的女性相比，较早开始生育的女性会出现生长迟缓。
我们使用了 2004 年至 2018 年期间进行的五次全国调查的数据，这些调查收集了 15 至 49 岁已婚女性的身高数据。我们分析了 20 至 29 岁女性（出生于 1974 年至 1998 年之间）的身高，并按出生年份、首次生育年龄（AFB）、经济状况、宗教和地区考察了平均身高。我们进行了多元线性回归模型分析，控制了社会人口特征随时间和 AFB 对女性身高的差异影响。
出生于 1974 年至 1998 年之间的女性平均身高每年显著增加 0.03 厘米，波动范围在 150.3 至 151.6 厘米之间。我们还发现生育年龄与成年身高之间存在关联-17 岁之前开始生育的女性成年后身高比较晚生育的女性矮约 1 厘米。
我们发现孟加拉国女性身高呈上升趋势的证据，以及未成年生育对女性潜在生长的抑制作用。这些发现呼吁进一步研究在不同环境下，考虑到影响早婚和生育的社会文化习俗，早育及其对妇女及其子女生长的影响。
