Ulijaszek S J
Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 1994 Feb;48 Suppl 1:S5-13; discussion S13-4.
Between-population differences in rates of physical growth and development and attained body size are well documented, but it is difficult to determine the extent to which these differences can be attributed to genetic and environmental factors. The greatest differences are to be found between populations in industrialised and non-industrialised nations, and between well-off and poorer groups within countries. Although genetic factors cannot be discounted, such differences can largely be attributed to differences in environmental quality experienced, influencing growth largely through differentials in nutritional well-being and exposure to, and treatment of, infectious disease. Growth patterns of well-off populations and groups of high socio-economic status are less heterogeneous, but differences between major global population groupings may still exist, bringing into question the validity of the concept of an international reference for the growth of young children. In this article, information pointing to genetic differences in the growth of children of different populations is summarised, and the acceptability of the NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics, 1977) references for height by age for international use is examined. It is concluded that the growth patterns of all major population groupings are likely to have similar genetic potential, with the exception of Asiatics. However, there are no data on either secular trends or well-off groups from populations that have until recently been genetically isolated, and it is not known whether they share the same potential for growth as the major populations that surround them. In addition, very little is known about the genetic potential for growth of Aboriginal populations in Australia, or in Pacific Islands populations. It is suggested that the growth references for height by age in current international use are at best only imperfect yardsticks for nutritional assessment.
不同人群在身体生长发育速度和最终体型方面的差异已有充分记录，但很难确定这些差异在多大程度上可归因于遗传和环境因素。工业化国家和非工业化国家的人群之间，以及国家内部富裕群体和贫困群体之间的差异最为显著。虽然不能忽视遗传因素，但这些差异很大程度上可归因于所经历的环境质量差异，主要通过营养状况的差异以及传染病的接触和治疗情况来影响生长。富裕人群和社会经济地位高的群体的生长模式差异较小，但全球主要人群分组之间可能仍存在差异，这使得幼儿生长国际参考标准这一概念的有效性受到质疑。在本文中，总结了表明不同人群儿童生长存在遗传差异的信息，并审视了美国国家卫生统计中心（1977年）按年龄划分的身高参考标准在国际上使用的可接受性。得出的结论是，除亚洲人外，所有主要人群分组的生长模式可能具有相似的遗传潜力。然而，对于直到最近仍处于基因隔离状态的人群，既没有关于长期趋势的数据，也没有富裕群体的数据，而且不清楚他们是否与周围的主要人群具有相同的生长潜力。此外，对于澳大利亚原住民或太平洋岛屿人群的生长遗传潜力知之甚少。有人认为，目前国际上使用的按年龄划分的身高生长参考标准充其量只是营养评估的不完善尺度。
