Determinants of growth in body length from birth to 6 years of age: A longitudinal study of Lublin children

The effect of determinants of growth in body length from birth to 6 years of age were studied in a longitudinal sample of 59 male and 70 female infants from Lublin, Poland. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to study the effects of gender of the child, occupation of the parents, the educational level of the parents, per capita income, the stature of the parents, and the weight of the mother on body length at birth and at 1, 2, 3, and 6 years of age. Significant sex differences in length were observed at birth and during the first 2 years of postnatal life, but not in the period between 3 and 6 years of age. Socioeconomic status (SES), expressed as a latent variable in the SEM, was not related to body length at birth but was significantly related to body length during infancy and, to a leaser extent, to body length during childhood. Paternal stature was not related to body length at birth and during infancy, but was significantly related to body length from 3 years onwards. Maternal stature was significantly related to body length at birth and at 1 year of age, but not thereafter, while maternal weight was significantly related to body length at birth only. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.