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Journal of Preventive Medicine and... Sep 2021This study examined stunting at birth and its associations with physical factors of parents and children in Indonesia.
OBJECTIVES
This study examined stunting at birth and its associations with physical factors of parents and children in Indonesia.
METHODS
This study analyzed secondary data from the national cross-sectional Indonesian Basic Health Survey 2018, conducted across 34 provinces and 514 districts/cities. Birth length data were available for 756 newborns. Univariable, bivariable, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine associations between the physical factors of parents and children and stunting at birth.
RESULTS
In total, 10.2% of children aged 0 months were stunted at birth (10.7% of males and 9.5% of females). Stunting at birth was associated with the mother's age at first pregnancy, parity, parents' heights, parents' ages, and gestational age. Children from mothers with short statures (height <145.0 cm) and fathers with short statures (height <161.9 cm) had an almost 6 times higher likelihood of being stunted at birth (adjusted odds ratio, 5.93; 95% confidence interval, 5.53 to 6.36). A higher maternal age at first pregnancy had a protective effect against stunting. However, other variables (firstborn child, preterm birth, and both parents' ages being <20 or >35 years) corresponded to a 2-fold higher likelihood of stunting at birth compared to the reference.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide evidence that interventions to reduce stunting aimed at pregnant females should also consider the parents' stature, age, and parity, particularly if it is the first pregnancy and if the parents are short in stature or young. Robust programs to support pregnant females and monitor children's heights from birth will help prevent intergenerational stunting.
Topics: Adult; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Growth Disorders; Humans; Indonesia; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Parents; Pregnancy; Premature Birth; Risk Factors
PubMed: 34649393
DOI: 10.3961/jpmph.21.120 -
Journal of Neurology Dec 2020Historical descriptions of fear at heights date back to Chinese and Roman antiquity. Current definitions distinguish between three different states of responses to... (Review)
Review
Historical descriptions of fear at heights date back to Chinese and Roman antiquity. Current definitions distinguish between three different states of responses to height exposure: a physiological height imbalance that results from an impaired visual control of balance, a more or less distressing visual height intolerance, and acrophobia at the severest end of the spectrum. Epidemiological studies revealed a lifetime prevalence of visual height intolerance including acrophobia in 28% of adults (32% in women; 25% in men) and 34% among prepubertal children aged 8-10 years without gender preponderance. Visual height intolerance first occurring in adulthood usually persists throughout life, whereas an early manifestation in childhood usually shows a benign course with spontaneous relief within years. A high comorbidity was found with psychiatric disorders (e.g. anxiety and depressive syndromes) and other vertigo syndromes (e.g. vestibular migraine, Menière's disease), but not with bilateral vestibulopathy. Neurophysiological analyses of stance, gait, and eye movements revealed an anxious control of postural stability, which entails a co-contraction of anti-gravity muscles that causes a general stiffening of the whole body including the oculomotor apparatus. Visual exploration is preferably reduced to fixation of the horizon. Gait alterations are characterized by a cautious slow walking mode with reduced stride length and increased double support phases. Anxiety is the critical factor in visual height intolerance and acrophobia leading to a motor behavior that resembles an atavistic primitive reflex of feigning death. The magnitude of anxiety and neurophysiological parameters of musculoskeletal stiffening increase with increasing height. They saturate, however, at about 20 m of absolute height above ground for postural symptoms and about 40 m for anxiety (70 m in acrophobic participants). With respect to management, a differentiation should be made between behavioral recommendations for prevention and therapy of the condition. Recommendations for coping strategies target behavioral advices on visual exploration, control of posture and locomotion as well as the role of cognition. Treatment of severely afflicted persons with distressing avoidance behavior mainly relies on behavioral therapy.
Topics: Adult; Child; Eye Movements; Fear; Female; Humans; Male; Phobic Disorders; Vertigo; Walking
PubMed: 32444982
DOI: 10.1007/s00415-020-09805-4 -
Cardiology 2021Identification and modification of cardiovascular risk factors is paramount to reducing cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Hypertension is a major risk... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Identification and modification of cardiovascular risk factors is paramount to reducing cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but its association with height remains largely underrecognized.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this manuscript is to review the evidence examining the association between blood pressure and human stature and to summarize the plausible pathophysiological mechanisms behind such an association.
METHODS
A systematic review of adult human height and its association with hypertension and coronary artery disease was undertaken. The literature evidence is summarized and tabulated, and an overview of the pathophysiological basis for this association is presented.
RESULTS
Shorter arterial lengths found in shorter individuals may predispose to hypertension in a complex hemodynamic interplay, which is explained predominantly by summated arterial wave reflections and an elevated augmentation index. Our systemic review suggests that an inverse relationship between adult height and blood pressure exists. However, differences in the studied populations and heterogeneity in the methods applied across the various studies limit the generalizability of these findings and their clinical application.
CONCLUSION
Physiological studies and epidemiological data suggest a potential inverse association between adult height and blood pressure. Further research is required to define the relationship more clearly between adult height and blood pressure and to assess whether antihypertensive therapeutic approaches and goals should be modified according to patients' heights.
Topics: Adult; Antihypertensive Agents; Blood Pressure; Body Height; Cardiovascular Diseases; Humans; Hypertension
PubMed: 33721862
DOI: 10.1159/000514205 -
Economics and Human Biology Apr 2023This paper re-enters the contested discussion surrounding the Indian Enigma, the high prevalence of chronic undernutrition in India relative to sub-Saharan Africa....
This paper re-enters the contested discussion surrounding the Indian Enigma, the high prevalence of chronic undernutrition in India relative to sub-Saharan Africa. Jayachandran & Pande (JP) argue that the key to the Indian Enigma lies in the worse treatment of higher birth order children, particularly girls. Analyzing new data, and taking into account issues relating to robustness to model specification, weighting and existing critiques of JP., we find: (1) Parameter estimates are sensitive to sampling design and model specification; (2) The gap between the heights of pre-school African and Indian children is closing; (3) The gap does not appear to be driven by differential associations by birth order and child sex; (4) The remaining gap is associated with differences in maternal heights. If Indian women had the heights of their African counterparts, pre-school Indian children would be taller than pre-school African children; and (5) Once we account for survey design, sibling size and maternal height, the coefficient associated with being an Indian girl is no longer statistically significant.
Topics: Child; Humans; Child, Preschool; Female; Malnutrition; Africa South of the Sahara; Asian People; India
PubMed: 36889253
DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101237 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2022The accurate extraction of wheat lodging areas can provide important technical support for post-disaster yield loss assessment and lodging-resistant wheat breeding. At...
The accurate extraction of wheat lodging areas can provide important technical support for post-disaster yield loss assessment and lodging-resistant wheat breeding. At present, wheat lodging assessment is facing the contradiction between timeliness and accuracy, and there is also a lack of effective lodging extraction methods. This study aims to propose a wheat lodging assessment method applicable to multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight heights. The quadrotor UAV was used to collect high-definition images of wheat canopy at the grain filling and maturity stages, and the Unet network was evaluated and improved by introducing the Involution operator and Dense block module. The performance of the Improved_Unet was determined using the data collected from different flight heights, and the robustness of the improved network was verified with data from different years in two different geographical locations. The results of analyses show that (1) the Improved_Unet network was better than other networks (Segnet, Unet and DeeplabV3+ networks) evaluated in terms of segmentation accuracy, with the average improvement of each indicator being 3% and the maximum average improvement being 6%. The Improved_Unet network was more effective in extracting wheat lodging areas at the maturity stage. The four evaluation indicators, Precision, Dice, Recall, and Accuracy, were all the highest, which were 0.907, 0.929, 0.884, and 0.933, respectively; (2) the Improved_Unet network had the strongest robustness, and its Precision, Dice, Recall, and Accuracy reached 0.851, 0.892, 0.844, and 0.885, respectively, at the verification stage of using lodging data from other wheat production areas; and (3) the flight height had an influence on the lodging segmentation accuracy. The results of verification show that the 20-m flight height performed the best among the flight heights of 20, 40, 80 and 120 m evaluated, and the segmentation accuracy decreased with the increase of the flight height. The Precision, Dice, Recall, and Accuracy of the Improved_Unet changed from 0.907 to 0.845, from 0.929 to 0.864, from 0.884 to 0.841, and from 0.933 to 0.881, respectively. The results demonstrate the improved ability of the Improved-Unet to extract wheat lodging features. The proposed deep learning network can effectively extract the areas of wheat lodging, and the different height fusion models developed from this study can provide a more comprehensive reference for the automatic extraction of wheat lodging.
PubMed: 36247550
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1009835 -
Frontiers in Physiology 2022While children have been shown to have increased BMI during the summer compared to the school year, it is not known if this may be due to seasonal variations in height...
While children have been shown to have increased BMI during the summer compared to the school year, it is not known if this may be due to seasonal variations in height or weight separately. Trained nurses measured heights (cm) and weights (kg) in a cohort of Kindergarteners ( = 7648) twice per year from the beginning of kindergarten through 5th grade. Variation in height and weight by season (school year . summer) was examined using separate mixed-effects models. Season, sex, and BMI trajectory group were tested as fixed effects. Random effects included repeated measurements of time, students nested within a school, intercept, and slope for growth over time. Similar models using BMIz as the outcome examined the interaction of height or weight with season. The rate of height gain was greater during the school year (∼Sept to April) compared to summer (∼April to Sept) (β = -0.05, SE = 0.013, < 0.0001). The rate of weight gain did not differ seasonally. Height gain was more strongly associated with increased BMIz during summer compared to the school year (β =.02, SE = 0.005, <0 .0001), mainly among children who remained healthy weight throughout elementary school (β = 0.014, SE = 0.003, < 0.0001) and those who transitioned to a healthier weight status (β = 0.026, SE = 0.008, = 0.004). We found a similar seasonal effect for the association between weight with BMIz among children who maintained a healthy weight status (β = 0.014, SE = 0.014, p < 0.0001). This study indicates seasonality in children's height gain, gaining height at a faster rate during the school year compared to the summer, while weight gain remained relatively more consistent throughout the year. Seasonality in height and weight gain had the greatest impact on BMIz among children with a healthy weight status. Future research with more frequent measurements is needed to better understand the seasonal regulation of children's growth and weight gain.
PubMed: 35665226
DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.793999 -
Craniomaxillofacial Trauma &... Dec 2022Retrospective cohort review.
STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective cohort review.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between falls from height and facial injuries.
METHODS
This is a retrospective cohort study, conducted over a 7-year period, of the medical records of all patients who presented to hospital for a maxillofacial injury following a fall from height. Fall heights were classified as low falls (1-3 m), high falls (3-10 m) and very high falls (≥10 m).
RESULTS
A total of 111 patients with 218 facial bone fractures were identified (78 men, 33 women and mean age 50.3 years). High falls were the most common (n = 58, 52.3%). Multiple fractures were identified in 51 (46.0%) patients. Orbital and middle third fractures were the most prevalent. Nasal, mandible, bilateral and fractures involving more than one facial third, increased as fall height increased, as did the requirement for operative fixation. The majority of patients had an associated injury (n = 100, 90.1%) and overall mortality was 6.3%.
CONCLUSIONS
Falls from height are prevalent and there is a trend towards increased severity of facial injury, surgical intervention and associated morbidity as fall height increases. Falls from height are a significant public health concern and an important facet of maxillofacial trauma to recognise, as is the requirement for an interdisciplinary approach as they present to hospital.
PubMed: 36387311
DOI: 10.1177/19433875211055356 -
Sports (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2021The purpose of this study was to examine kinetic and kinematic characteristics of various types of 2-point and 3-point basketball shooting approaches and determine which...
The purpose of this study was to examine kinetic and kinematic characteristics of various types of 2-point and 3-point basketball shooting approaches and determine which variables have the greatest contribution in discriminating proficient (PRO) from non-proficient (N-PRO) shooters. While standing on a force plate, twenty-nine recreationally active males performed a total of 1740 shots by utilizing stationary and step-in shooting approaches. Two high-definition cameras were used to simultaneously capture kinematic parameters of shooting motions. The type of shooting approach showed as a non-influential factor. During the preparatory phase of the shooting motion, PRO 2-point shooters demonstrated higher elbow and basketball height placements, greater flexion in the shoulder and elbow joints while attaining greater release and entry ball angles during the release phase. PRO 3-point shooters demonstrated greater elbow flexion, higher basketball placement, and less hip flexion during the preparatory phase while attaining greater heel, release, and trajectory heights during the release phase. When entered into a full-model discriminant function analysis, elbow angle, elbow height, and release angle variables correctly classified PRO from N-PRO 2-point shooters in 62.1% of cases and hip angle, heel height, and elbow angle variables correctly classified PRO from N-PRO 3-point shooters in 81.6% of cases.
PubMed: 35050967
DOI: 10.3390/sports10010002 -
CoDAS 2022To compare orofacial anthropometric measurements, with weight, height and sex of newborns. (Observational Study)
Observational Study
PURPOSE
To compare orofacial anthropometric measurements, with weight, height and sex of newborns.
METHODS
Observational cross-sectional study carried out with 130 newborns on exclusive breastfeeding. Data collection was performed by properly trained and calibrated speech therapists. The orofacial measurements of the newborns were performed with flexible and transparent ruler 10 cm long, in the following segments: heights of the upper third(tr-g), the middle third(g-sn) and the lower third on the face (sn-gn); filter height (sn-Is), distance between the corner of the eye and the labial commissure on the right and left side (ex-ch). Weight and height measurements were collected from the newborns' medical records. The data were submitted to statistical analysis, using the Mann-Whitney test, adopting a significance level of 5%.
RESULTS
Of the 130 newborns, 61 were male and 69 female. The median weight was 3.3 kg and the median height was 49 cm. There was significant difference between weight and measurement distance between the corner of the eye and the left and right labial commissure (ex-ch). There was no significant difference in orofacial measurements with sex and height.
CONCLUSION
There was no difference in orofacial anthropometric measurements of full-term newborns when compared with sex and height; however, when compared to weight, there is a difference in the measurements of the distance between the corner of the eye and the labial commissure on the right and left side.
Topics: Anthropometry; Body Height; Breast Feeding; Cross-Sectional Studies; Face; Female; Head; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Male
PubMed: 35019062
DOI: 10.1590/2317-1782/20212020114 -
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2022In ski mountaineering, equipment and its interaction with the exercising human plays an important role. The binding, as the crucial connection between boot and ski, must...
In ski mountaineering, equipment and its interaction with the exercising human plays an important role. The binding, as the crucial connection between boot and ski, must ensure safe fixation during downhill skiing and a free moving heel when walking uphill. Uphill, the binding offers the possibility to adopt the height of the heel (riser height) to personal preferences and the steepness of the ascent. This possible adjustment and its influence on various biomechanical parameters are the focus of this work. For this study, 19 male leisure ski mountaineers were tested on a treadmill, ascending at a fixed submaximal speed (3.9 ± 0.4 km·h) at 8, 16, and 24% gradient and with three heel riser heights, low (0 cm), medium (3.0 cm) and high (5.3 cm). The applied biomechanical measurement systems included a 3D motion capture system in sagittal plane, pressure insoles, a with strain gauges instrumented pole, spirometry and a comfort scale. Step length and step frequency were influenced by the riser height and the gradient ( ≤ 0.001). The high riser height decreased the step length by 5% compared to the low riser height over all tested gradients, while steps were 9.2% longer at the 24% gradient compared to the 8% gradient over all three riser heights. The high riser height revealed a force impulse of the pole 13% lower than using the low riser height ( < 0.001). Additionally, the high riser height reduced the range of motion of the knee joint and the ankle joint compared to the low riser height ( < 0.001). Therefore, advantageous settings can be derived, with the low riser height creating proper range of motion for ankle, knee and hip joint and higher propulsion via the pole at 8%, while higher riser heights like the medium setting do so at steeper gradients. These findings are in line with the conducted comfort scale. We would not recommend the highest riser height for the analyzed gradients in this study, but it might be an appropriate choice for higher gradients.
PubMed: 36060627
DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2022.886025