The contribution of adolescent growth to shorter adult statures among girls of Chinese ancestry

Researchers have hypothesized that shorter mean statures at onset of the adolescent spurt and more rapid skeletal maturation during adolescence among East Asian populations contribute significantly to their shorter mean adult statures compared to European populations. The goal of this study is to use longitudinal height growth data modeled with the Preece-Baines Model 1 (PB1) function to examine the relative importance of adolescent growth to population differences in adult stature. Biological variables for 303 Chinese females from the Da-an District in Taipei, Taiwan, are compared with those for 23 British and 69 Euro-American females. Results indicate that 96% of the difference in adult statures (4.37 cm) between the British and urban Chinese may be attributed to the greater amount of time available to the British for preadolescent growth. Growth during adolescence between these two groups is not significantly different. When comparisons are made with the Euro-American sample from Berkeley, California, only about 26% of the difference in adult stature (6.96 cm) may be attributed to the later age at take-off. Much (53.2%) of the difference has already accrued by take-off among the Chinese. Small, but statistically significant differences in adolescent growth also exist. When considered within the context of other longitudinal studies of European and American females, this study gives only modest support to the hypothesis that more rapid skeletal maturation leads to reduced amounts of adolescent growth among East Asian populations. Interestingly, though, population differences do appear to exist in the relationship between the relative timing of an individual's growth spurt and spurt intensity. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:735-746, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.