Impact of war on growth patterns in school children in Croatia.

The objective of this paper is to present the growth patterns of school children in Osijek--the city which was exposed to severe attacks during the aggression on Croatia. The mean height and weight of Osijek schoolchildren aged 7 to 18 and the menarcheal age in girls in academic year 1995/96 were compared to the analogous data collected in 1980/81. The secular changes in height were heterogeneous. In older age groups from 12 in girls and 13 in boys, the mean height in 1995/96 increased markedly, whereas from 9 to 11 or 12, changes were undulating. In the youngest groups--at the age of 7 in both genders, and at 8 in boys, negative changes were observed. Markedly smaller height in this cohort was still pronounced in 1999/2000 when these children reached the age of 11. However, one year later (2000/01), at the age of 12, boys and girls caught up with their peers in the previous generations. These children during the war were approximately at the age of 2.5 to 4, a period when growth patterns are highly sensitive to adverse environmental influences. It might be possible that the emotional stress caused by a change of environment and separation from home, contributed to the deceleration of growth rate, i.e. the smaller height in a large part of childhood.

[Growth of school children in Croatia in the last decade of the second millennium]. / Kako su rasla skolska djeca u Hrvatskoj u posljednjim desetljecima drugog milenija.

The objective of this paper is to present the somatic growth of school children and adolescents in Croatia in the early eighties of the 20th century. The cross-sectional study performed throughout Croatia over 4 years (1980-84) was organized by the Andrija Stampar School of Public Health. The survey covered a total of 36,725 boys and 36,624 girls aged 6-19 years in 37 different localities from all geographic regions of Croatia. Tables and curves of conventional centiles for height and weight of boys and girls according to one-year age groups were constructed. Weight is also presented in relation to height, according to the range of 2 cm. Results have shown that median height in both genders increased up to the age of 18. However, in girls the increase after the age of 16 was minimal. Mean weight increased up to the age of 18 in girls, and up to the age of 19 in boys. As compared to the peers in other countries, Croatian school children are among the "taller" within European population. It seems that population of Croatian school children did not reach their genetic growth potential. In following decades, positive secular changes might be expected.

Changes in menarcheal age in girls exposed to war conditions.

The purpose of this study was to assess changes in mean menarcheal age of girls in the city of Sibenik in the period from mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Sibenik is a Dalmatian town which was exposed to hard war conditions in 1991-1995. Menarcheal status of Sibenik girls was surveyed three times, in 1981, 1985, and 1996, and included 720, 1,207, and 1,680 girls, respectively, ages 9.5-16.5 years. Mean menarcheal age was estimated by the status quo method and application of probit analysis. Results show a slight decrease in menarcheal age from 1981 to 1985 (from 12.97 +/- 0.06 years to 12.87 +/- 0.05), and then a significant increase from 12.87 +/- 0.05 years in 1985 to 13.13 +/- 0.10 years in 1996. The increase in mean menarcheal age occurred in all socioeconomic groups based on parental occupation and number of siblings. In the group of girls whose homes were damaged during war, menarche occurred at an average of 13.53 +/- 0.14 years, while those who lost a family member experienced menarche at an older mean age, 13.76 +/- 0.27 years. However, when the girls who experienced personal tragedies were excluded the onset of menarche was still later than in girls surveyed in the earlier periods. The results suggest that the general reversal in the secular trend of menarcheal age in Sibenik girls can be attributed to persistent psychological pressures and uncertainties associated with conditions of war. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:503-508, 2000. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.