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PubMed1998

Secular increases in waist-hip ratio among Swedish women.

INTRODUCTION: Secular increases in obesity have been documented in numerous populations. However, little is known about trends in fat distribution. Because men and women with elevated waist-hip ratios (WHR) constitute a high cardiovascular risk group, it is relevant to document secular changes in WHR. This paper compares WHR in three cohorts of women, one cohort recruited in the late 1960s and the others after 12 y and 24 y intervals. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In 1968-1969, a randomly selected sample of women aged of 38 y and 50 y, was given anthropometric examinations (n = 761, total). The same measurements were taken on representative cohorts aged 38 y and 50 y in 1980-1981 (n = 677) and 1992-1993 (n = 167). All analyses of trends in WHR as a function of time are age-specific and body mass index (BMI)-adjusted. RESULTS: An interesting feature of this population is that BMI was stable from 1968-1969 to 1992-1993. However, WHR increased significantly in those aged 38 y and 50 y, independent of BMI (P = 0.001, both ages). The source of these changes in WHR was a combination of increasing waist circumferences and decreasing hip circumferences. Skinfold measurements, taken only at the first two examinations, also increased significantly. CONCLUSIONS: This female population appears to have experienced some changes in body shape and composition. However, we cannot explain the increasingly centralized fat patterning by changes in BMI, subcutaneous skinfold thickness or those obesity-related aspects of the modern lifestyle that we were able to measure.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Female genital cutting in southern urban and peri-urban Nigeria: self-reported validity, social determinants and secular decline.

Despite growing public resistance to the practice of female genital cutting (FGC), documentation of its prevalence, social correlates or trends in practice are extremely limited, and most available data are based on self-reporting. In three antenatal and three family planning clinics in South-west Nigeria we studied the prevalence, social determinants, and validity of self-reporting for FGC among 1709 women. Women were interviewed on social and demographic history, and whether or not they had undergone FGC. Interviews were followed by clinical examination to affirm the occurrence and extent of circumcision. In total, 45.9% had undergone some form of cutting. Based on WHO classifications by type, 32.6% had Type I cuts, 11.5% Type II, and 1.9% Type III or IV. Self-reported FGC status was valid in 79% of women; 14% were unsure of their status, and 7% reported their status incorrectly. Women are more likely to be unsure of their status if they were not cut, or come from social groups with a lower prevalence of cutting. Ethnicity was the most significant social predictor of FGC, followed by age, religious affiliation and education. Prevalence of FGC was highest among the Bini and Urhobo, among those with the least education, and particularly high among adherents to Pentecostal churches; this was independent of related social factors. There is evidence of a steady and steep secular decline in the prevalence of FGC in this region over the past 25 years, with age-specific prevalence rates of 75.4% among women aged 45-49 years, 48.6% among 30-34-year olds, and 14.5% among girls aged 15-19. Despite wide disparities in FGC prevalence across ethnic, religious and educational groups, the secular decline is evident among all social subgroups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Perceptions of dual identity and separate groups among secular and religious Israeli Jews.

The authors examined the effects of perceptions of dual identity and separate groups on tendencies to handle intergroup conflict through problem solving and contention. Among secular Israeli Jews, regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between perceptions of dual identity and perceptions of separate groups: Only under high perception of dual identity was the perception of separate groups associated with contention. Among religious Israeli Jews, problem solving and contention were unrelated to either dual identity or to perceptions of separate groups. The results are discussed in terms of the common ingroup identity model (S. L. Gaertner, M. C. Rust, J. F. Dovidio, B. A. Bachman, & P. A. Anastasio, 1994) and in the context of the conflict between religious and secular Jews in Israel.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular trend in age at menarche for women born between 1920 and 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: This article presents data on the secular trend in age at menarche for 1955 women from 16 to 76 years of age born between 1920 and 1979 and studied under the Nutrition and Health Survey conducted in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1996. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Age at menarche was defined by the retrospective method. Women were grouped according to decade of birth, and the trend was estimated using simple linear regression between age at menarche and year of birth for the following specific periods: 1920-1940, 1920-1960, 1960-1979 and 1920-1979. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Mean age at menarche decreased from 13.07 to 12.40 years when comparing the group of women born in the 1920s with the 1970s birth cohort, corresponding to a mean rate of -0.0123 years per year (p < 0.001). The downward trend was -0.0120 years per year (p > 0.05) for the 1920s, 30s and 40s, -0.0093 years per year (p < 0.05) for the period from 1920 to 1960, and -0.0224 years per year (p < 0.01) for the 1960s/70s. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a secular trend in age at menarche. The literature points to such environmental variables as improved living conditions and expanded access to health services. Within this context, age at menarche could be used as a marker for social development.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular trends in growth among urban Brazilian children of European descent.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss a significant secular trend in stature and weight in an urban Brazilian population. METHODOLOGY: Anthropometric measurements of 7878 children and adolescents from São Paulo, Brazil, obtained in 1997/98 were compared with data from a previous study carried out in 1978. Both samples include children of middle-class urban families of European ancestry. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Comparisons between the two samples reveal strong positive secular trends in both height and weight. Furthermore, the 1997/98 sample shows no growth deficits in relation to the WHO/NCHS international reference. CONCLUSIONS: The positive trend can be explained as the result of economic development and improvement of social indicators, while the absence of growth deficits, contrary to what is reported in other studies carried out in developing countries, follows from the common genetic background of the Brazilian sample surveyed here and the US sample which is the basis of the NCHS/WHO reference.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular trend in stature in the Portuguese population (1904-2000).

The records of height of 995 101 18-year-old Portuguese males were analysed as well as the relation between localities of the subject's residence (districts) and final height. The sample includes all the Portuguese 18-year-old males born between 1966 and 1982 and examined between 1985 and 2000, in the north, centre and south of Portugal, representing all the social strata. Statistically significant differences (p <or= 0.001) among the districts were found: males from Lisboa (172.79 cm) and Braga (172.67 cm), the most developed districts, are the tallest, and those from Madeira (170.67 cm), Castelo Branco, Leiria and Coimbra (171.31 cm) are the shortest. Comparing to published data from 1904, a positive secular trend in height was found. The average increase was 8.93 cm, which yields a rate of 0.99 cm per decade. This positive trend must be related to the general improvement in the population's standard living conditions that took place in Portugal mainly after the 1960s and 1970s, especially in terms of nutrition and the health system. However, taking into account the differences that still exist in mean height values between the districts, these results suggest that there are still great social inequalities in Portugal and the secular trend in height will continue for the Portuguese population in future decades.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family socio-economic background modified secular trends in age at menarche: evidence from the Pró-Saúde Study (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

BACKGROUND: Since age at menarche has been associated with socio-economic status, its downward secular trend might vary according to the different socio-economic status levels of the family in which women lived during their childhood. AIM: This study seeks to describe secular trends in age at menarche for Brazilian women whose fathers had different levels of educational attainment. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 2053 women born between 1931 and 1977. Multiple linear regression models were employed to estimate trends in age at menarche according to categories of educational level of the participants' father. RESULTS: The age at first menstruation varied from 7 to 19 years, with a mean age of 12.3 years (+/- 1.64 SD). The reduction in age at menarche was 2.4 months per decade for all women. Among daughters of fathers with less than 8 years of schooling this reduction was 3.6 months per decade, and among daughters of fathers with 8 years or more of study it was 1.2 months per decade. CONCLUSION: Improvements in living conditions in Brazil over the last decades seem to have had a stronger effect on the reduction of the age at menarche among women who lived their childhood in worse socio-economic standards.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

The secular variation of Australian twin births over fifty years.

Twins born during the fifty years 1920-69 in Australia were analysed statistically and their sex composition was found to be homogeneously distributed in a geographical but not a secular manner. The twinning rate reached a maximum in 1953 after which it fell to pre-war levels. This behaviour was due to dizygotic twins, and the role of intermediate maternal age at parturition as a contributing factor is discussed. Considered in relation to all twin maternities, however, the dizygotic rate declined significantly and linearly with time. This could be attributed to the gradual secular decline in maternal age.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular shift in menarcheal age of Patiala (India) schoolgirls between 1974 and 1986.

The secular shift between 1974 and 1986 in the menarcheal age of Patiala schoolgirls has been explored. A total of 946 girls of higher and lower social classes (type of school being the criterion) were surveyed, out of which 421 were menstruating at the time of investigations. The median ages at menarche (by probits) of higher social class girls were 12.90 +/- 0.64 years in 1974 and 12.54 +/- 0.13 years in 1986, and of lower social class girls 14.40 +/- 0.47 years in 1974 and 13.65 +/- 0.18 years in 1986. The secular shift per decade in higher and lower social class girls is 0.30 years and 0.63 years, respectively. The social class differences during this period in menarcheal age have decreased.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Age at menarche in Flemish girls: current status and secular change in the 20th century.

The age at menarche in a national sample of 4894 Flemish schoolgirls was surveyed in 1979-1980. The probit estimate of the mean age at menarche was 13.20 +/- 0.02 years (SD = 1.25 years). This estimate falls well within the range of reported ages at menarche for girls in northwestern Europe, but is slightly later than those for French-speaking girls in Belgium and in France. Status quo secular data for the 20th century indicate a decline in estimated mean ages at menarche of Flemish girls from about 14.3 years before World War II to 13.6 and 13.2 years, respectively, among girls born just before and during the war. Subsequently, mean ages at menarche of Flemish girls are fairly stable between 13.0 and 13.2 years. These secular changes are of the same magnitude as those observed in other European countries.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular change in the growth and development of Han children in China.

This paper reports the secular change in physical growth and development of Han children in 12 Chinese metropolitan cities including Beijing, Tianjing, Shanghai, Jinan, Harbin, Shenyang, Changchun, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. Based on a recent national survey of 14,688 healthy schoolchildren, aged 7-18 years, and together using the historical records of healthy schoolchildren as secondary data source, this study found a secular change in the growth and development of Chinese children and youth. In every decade between the 1950s and 1985 the average height increased by 2.66 cm (range 1.78-3.77) for boys and 2.40 cm (range 1.72-3.76) for girls, and the average weight increased by 1.64 kg (range 1.28-2.63) for boys and 1.14 kg (range 0.63-2.01) for girls in the 12 cities. In the last decade from the 1970s to 1985, the height and weight increments were highest in Beijing, Jinan, Shenyang and Shanghai. In addition, the increments were higher during the peak growth years than during other periods of growth. In the 30 years studied, the ages of maximum growth velocity were advanced, and they were 1 or 2 years earlier in 1985 than in the 1950s in most cities. When compared with the data from the 1930s the results indicate that, during the last half-century, height increased by 1.12-2.66 cm per decade for boys and 1.42-2.67 cm/decade for girls, while weight increased by 0.56-1.27 for boys and 0.65-1.18 kg for girls in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hanzhou and Guangzhou.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular growth trends in Brazil over three decades.

This study describes secular trends in physical growth in Brazil over a period of three decades. The study is based on two comparable national surveys undertaken in the mid-seventies and late eighties. Mean heights at ages 7 and 22 are estimated for three cohorts of males and females born around 1952, 1967 and 1982, respectively. Positive secular trends are found both between 1952 and 1967 and between 1967 and 1982. Modest height gains of around 1.0 cm per decade comparable to those described in developed countries during the second half of the 19th century are observed in the first period (1952-67). Outstanding height increments of around 2.4 cm per decade and comparable only to those described for Japanese children after 1950 are detected in the second period (1967-82). Height increments tending to higher values in the second period are seen for both sexes in the five Brazilian macroregions and in different economic strata. Even so, a large gap still separates the physical growth as observed in the north and northeast regions (and, generally speaking, among the poorest third of the Brazilian population) from the normal growth pattern expected when living conditions are adequate. Substantial income improvements over the seventies plus the continuous progress in the availability of sanitation, health and education services during the seventies and eighties are consistent with the exceptional height gains observed between the cohorts of 1967 and 1982. On the other hand, the tragic performance of the Brazilian economy during recent years plus the evidence that infant mortality rates did not decline in the eighties as they had done in the seventies may suggest a reduction in the speed of the positive trends in growth. If this hypothesis is true, the full development of the genetic growth potential of a large part of the Brazilian population will be postponed to a very remote future.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular change in height in Austria: an effect of population stratification?

The records of height on some 700,000 18-year-old Austrian males, called for examination as to their fitness for conscription, were analysed. The data covered 14 conscription years (1980-93), representing males born in the years 1962-75. The sample covered over 90% of the total male population of those cohorts in Austria. The data were analysed by birth year to show the secular trend in 18-year-old stature and its rate, which overall amounted to 0.53 cm/decade. Analysis by urban-rural residence showed that both participated in the trend, but that the urban-rural differences were appreciably less than the differences between the types of school the young men had attended. The rate of increase over the 14 years was less within each of the eight subgroups (urban-rural, four school categories). It is argued that the secular trend in height that has occurred is largely attributable to the change in social stratification, as evidenced by the changed proportion of subjects who attended schools of different types.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular changes in standing height, sitting height and sexual maturation of Chinese--the Hong Kong Growth Study, 1993.

In 1993 a territory-wide cross-sectional growth survey on 25,000 Chinese children from birth to 18 years was performed in Hong Kong. Compared to the last growth survey in 1963, definite secular changes were observed. There was an increase of final adult standing height of 3.6 cm in boys and 2.7 cm in girls, in which 1.8 cm and 0.5 cm respectively for boys and girls was accounted for by the sitting height. Thus most of the height increase had occurred in the leg length in girls, but in boys only half of it. The height difference was more marked during the pubertal years because secular change had brought about an earlier sexual maturation, including an advancement of median menarcheal age by 0.5 year, coupled with an earlier growth spurt. This paper also provides the first growth standards for Chinese from birth to 18 years, with percentile charts on both standing height and sexual maturation in boys and girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular changes in the growth of Toronto children during the last century.

A comparison of measurements of height is made from the late 19th century to early and mid-20th century in Toronto School children. Changes in total attained stature for age is compared for girls and boys to assess secular trends in height of urban children from Southern Ontario. The data clearly show a positive trend toward increased attained height for age from the earliest to most recent data. Comparison of the Toronto growth profiles to other published 18th and 19th century growth data demonstrates that the secular trend in the Canadian children is a reflection of the continued global trend towards increased height. The implications of this changing pattern over time are discussed in the context of changing urban health and nutrition in the greater Toronto area.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secular trends in male adult height 1904-1996 in relation to place of residence and parent's educational level in Portugal.

The records of height of 22841 18-year-old Portuguese males were analysed as well as their parents educational level and localities of subject's residence (districts). The sample includes all the Portuguese 18-year-old males, born in 1978 and examined in 1996, in central and southern Portugal, representing all the social strata. Statistically significant differences (p < or = 0.001) among the districts were found: males from Setúbal (172.75 cm) and Lisboa (172.64 cm), the most developed districts, are the tallest, and those from C. Branco (170.79cm) and Coimbra (171.19 cm) are the shortest. Comparing to published data from 1904, a positive secular trend in height was found. The average increase was 8.99 cm, which yields a rate of 0.99 cm per decade. This positive trend must be related to the general improvement in the population's standard living conditions, as the striking drop of post-neonatal mortality rate shows after the 1960s and 1970s. Despite this positive trend, great social difference still exists: the gap between the two extremes of parents' educational level is almost 4 cm for height. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant effects of father's and mother's educational level as well as subject's locality of residence, but the influence of parents' educational level was stronger than that of geographic residence. These results suggest that the secular trend in height will continue for the Portuguese population in the future decade.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Living and dying in the Jewish way: secular rights and religious duties.

This article compares and contrasts the modern American secular emphasis on individual rights and autonomous decision making in the "right to die" context with the traditional emphasis on obligation to others and to God found in Orthodox Judaism. The approach of Conservative and Reform Judaism to decision-making about life-sustaining medical treatments also is explicated and used as the basis for posing a variety of questions regarding the proper balance and relative influence of religious and secular values for modern American Jews in grappling with the difficult ethical dilemmas posed by "right to die" scenarios.

Advance Directives↗
PubMed2000

New reference for the age at childhood onset of growth and secular trend in the timing of puberty in Swedish.

UNLABELLED: The objectives of the present work were to present a new reference for the age at childhood onset of growth and to investigate the secular trend in the timing of puberty in a community-based normal population in Sweden. A total of 2,432 children with longitudinal length/height data from birth to adulthood were used to determine the two measures by visual inspection of the measured attained length/height and the change in growth velocity displayed on a computer-generated infancy-childhood-puberty (ICP) based growth chart. The series represents a sample of normal full-term children born around 1974 in Göteborg, Sweden. We found about 10% of children were delayed (>12 mo of age) in the childhood onset of growth based on the previous reported normal range, i.e. 14% in boys and 8% in girls. Distribution of the age at childhood onset of growth was skewed. The medians were 10 and 9 mo for boys and girls, respectively. After natural logarithmic transformation, the mean and standard deviation (SD) were 2.29 (anti-log 9.9 mo) and 0.226 for boys, 2.23 (anti-log 9.3 mo) and 0.220 for girls, respectively. The 95% normal ranges were 6.3-15.4 and 6.0-14.3 for boys and girls, respectively. The distribution of the timing of PHV was close to the normal distribution. The mean values were 13.5 y for boys and 11.6 y for girls with 1 y SD for both sexes. CONCLUSION: A downward secular trend in the onset of puberty was clearly shown in the population. The age at childhood onset of growth did not correlate with the timing of puberty (r = -0.01 and 0.05, p > 0.7 and 0.1 in boys and girls, respectively). Normal ranges of the age at childhood onset of growth are in need of revise, as this study indicates. The new reference presented here could be a reliable indicator in further studies.

Adolescent↗