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Short- and long-run associations between birth weight and children's height

Author

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  • Krishna, Aditi
  • Fink, Günther
  • Berkman, Lisa F.
  • Subramanian, S.V.

Abstract

Much evidence suggests that the 1000 days spanning from conception to children's second birthdays are critical for physical development. Whether influence of the exposures occurring during this window lasts later in life is unclear. Our study investigates changes in associations between birth weight and height, one measure of physical development, over different life-stages and whether greater household wealth promotes better growth for low birth weight (LBW) children. Using longitudinal data from Young Lives, we analyzed associations between birth weight and physical growth and examined differences across ages and by household wealth for 3999 children from Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. At 6–18 months, LBW children had 0.53-SD (Standard error [SE]: 0.08) lower HAZ. Over time, the gap between normal and LBW children narrowed significantly to 0.21-SD (SE: 0.05) and 0.24-SD (SE: 0.05) at 4–5 years and 7–8 years, respectively. Prenatal experiences are most salient in establishing the greatest height deficits within the first year. Although disparities in height are reduced in the first year, height differences at age 4–5 years remain at 7–8 years of age. Even among wealthier families, there was no recovery in height for LBW children during the first year and no catch-up growth for these children in later childhood. These findings suggest that prenatal conditions, reflected in birth weight, are more important in setting height trajectories in comparison to postnatal factors, which do not help children recover fully from early growth deficits.

Suggested Citation

  • Krishna, Aditi & Fink, Günther & Berkman, Lisa F. & Subramanian, S.V., 2016. "Short- and long-run associations between birth weight and children's height," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 156-166.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:21:y:2016:i:c:p:156-166
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2016.02.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sirin Saracoglu & Deniz KARAOĞLAN**, 2017. "Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Early Childhood Health: The Case Of Turkey," EcoMod2017 10749, EcoMod.
    2. Deniz Karaoğlan & Dürdane Şirin Saraçoğlu, 2018. "Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Early Childhood Health: the Case of Turkey," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(3), pages 1051-1075, June.
    3. Duc, Le Thuc & Behrman, Jere R., 2017. "Heterogeneity in predictive power of early childhood nutritional indicators for mid-childhood outcomes: Evidence from Vietnam," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 86-95.
    4. Deniz Karaoğlan & Dürdane Şirin Saracoğlu, 2016. "Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Early Childhood Health: The Case of Turkey," ERC Working Papers 1614, ERC - Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University, revised 2016.
    5. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2018. "Smoking ban and health at birth: Evidence from Hungary," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 37-47.
    6. Humphries, Debbie L. & Dearden, Kirk A. & Crookston, Benjamin T. & Woldehanna, Tassew & Penny, Mary E. & Behrman, Jere R., 2017. "Household food group expenditure patterns are associated with child anthropometry at ages 5, 8 and 12 years in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 30-41.

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