Analyzing the effects of the Spanish Civil War on biological well-being through new anthropometric indicators.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the negative impact of severe economic shocks (such as those associated with wars) on the growth of children and adolescents. Individuals exposed to these shocks during their developmental years exhibited shorter average heights compared to both previous and subsequent generations. Anthropometric research has highlighted the sensitivity of the height variable in understanding the biological well-being of children and adolescents. However, little attention has been paid to the evolution of other anthropometric variables. This study investigates the impact of the famine following the Spanish Civil War on biological well-being in nine municipalities of the Region of Valencia (with over 120,000 observations of individuals born between 1890 and 1955) using two indicators: chest circumference, and the percentage of individuals of short stature. Our findings confirm that both of these anthropometric indicators were responsive to the economic shock of the Civil War. The well-being levels prior to the war took 20 years to recover.

The association between male height and lifespan in rural Spain, birth cohorts 1835-1939.

This article analyses the relationship between male height and age at death and its evolution over time among conscripts born in fourteen villages in north-east rural Spain. A total of 1,488 conscripts born between 1835 and 1939 (and who died between 1868 and 2019) have been included in the analysis (based on the study of 3 sub-periods: 1835-1869, 1870-1899, and 1900-1939). The height data have been obtained from military service conscription records and the demographic and socioeconomic information of the deceased was obtained from parish archives and censuses. The data have been linked according to nominative criteria using family reconstitution methods. For the statistical analysis, we have used ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regressions with heteroskedasticity-robust estimation. The results suggest a positive relationship between height and lifespan in the long-term. For the birth cohorts of 1835-1869, conscripts with a height of 170 cm or more lived on average 7.6 years longer than conscripts measuring less than 160 cm. This difference in life expectancy tended to disappear for the birth cohorts of 1900-1939, benefiting especially the short conscripts who had greater possibilities to increase their average lifespan. The reasons that might explain these changes could reside in the improvements experienced by this group in terms of their living conditions, health and nutrition during the twentieth century.

Assessing the effects of autarchic policies on the biological well-being: Analysis of deviations in cohort male height in the Valencian Community (Spain) during Francoist regime.

This article aims to assess the impact of autarchic policies on the biological dimensions of human well-being during Francoist regime in Spain. This is done by examining the nutritional status of the population through the study of male adult heights. Our case study is the Valencian Community with the focus on the period 1940-59 which witnessed the implementation of such policies. The heights of 21-year old draftees born between 1900 and 1954 from nine municipalities (N = 87,510) were analyzed in the light of inter-cohort deviations from a secular trend established for cohorts that were not exposed to autarchy-related hardships. Height was regressed on infant mortality as a way to control for infection and therefore approach the net effect of nutrition on height outcomes. Contrarily to what was displayed by cohort height trends in themselves, the results reveal a significant worsening of the nutritional status of the male population at the time. Deviations from the expected height trend across municipalities ranged between -0.5 and -3.4 mm per year. The effects of malnutrition are found to be larger among cohorts born in the period 1920-34 in coherence with a longer exposure to autarchy hardships during adolescence. Pre-autarchy nutrition levels observed among the cohorts of 1900-14 were not regained until the cohorts 1945-49. The results also show that malnutrition had an unequal impact with the large industrial towns of our sample experiencing the poorest height outcomes. Overall, these results invite to revise conclusions obtained from the sole evidence of height trends and they question the efficiency of intervention policies implemented in Spain during the 1940s.

Estatura y desigualdad nutricional en la España rural mediterránea, 1840-1965: regadío frente a secano / Height and nutritional inequality in rural Mediterranean Spain, 1840-1965: irrigated versus dryland agriculture

Introducción: desde la década de 2000 el estado nutricional de las poblaciones rurales españolas ha sido objeto de estudio por parte de la historia antropométrica. A pesar de este indudable avance, apenas contamos con ensayos comparativos sobre la estatura y la desigualdad biológica entre zonas agrarias de distinta especialización productiva (regadío y secano). Objetivos: analizar la desigualdad del estado nutricional en zonas agrarias de distinta especialización productiva en la España mediterránea (regadío y secano) durante el proceso de modernización. Métodos: usamos los datos de estatura de 146.041 mozos llamados al reclutamiento en diez municipios (72.557 observaciones en regadío y 73.514 en secano). Estimamos promedios de talla, coeficientes de variación y percentiles según zona de secano y regadío. Resultados: entre las cohortes de 1840 y 1965 mejoró el estado nutricional. La altura promedio creció 9,1 cm. En las zonas de regadío fueron más altos que en las de secano (con diferencias de 1,8 cm). Al final del periodo, el mayor incremento de la talla media se registra en el regadío. El análisis de los coeficientes de variación (CV) y de los percentiles muestran, sin embargo, que la desigualdad nutricional fue mayor en las zonas de secano. Conclusiones: se advierten diferencias significativas de talla media según patrones de especialización agraria en la España mediterránea y una clara ventaja relativa en las zonas de riego frente a las de secano. Se discuten distintos factores explicativos que podrían ser futuras líneas de investigación

Introduction: since the 2000s the nutritional status of Spanish rural populations has been studied by anthropometric history. But despite this undoubted progress, we hardly have comparative studies on the height and biological inequality between agrarian zones of different productive specialization (irrigated and dryland agriculture). Objectives: to analyse the nutritional inequality in agrarian zones of different productive specialization in Mediterranean Spain (irrigated and dryland agriculture) during the process of modernization. Methods: we use height data of 146,041 conscripts called for recruitment in ten municipalities (72,557 in irrigated areas and 73,514 in dryland areas). We estimate average height, coefficients of variation and percentiles according to agrarian specialization. Results: between the cohorts of 1840 and 1965 the nutritional status improved. The average height grew 9.1 cm. The conscripts measured in the irrigated areas were higher than the conscripts measured in the dryland areas (differences of 1.8 cm). At the end of the study period, the average height growth was greater in the irrigated ones. The analysis of coefficients of variation (CV) and percentiles show, however, that the nutritional inequality was greater in dryland areas. Conclusions: there are significant differences in the average height according to patterns of agrarian specialization in Mediterranean Spain and a clear relative advantage in irrigated areas versus dryland. Various explanatory factors that could be future research lines are discussed

[Height and nutritional inequality in rural Mediterranean Spain, 1840-1965: irrigated versus dryland agriculture]. / Estatura y desigualdad nutricional en la España rural mediterránea, 1840-1965: regadío frente a secano.

INTRODUCTION: since the 2000s the nutritional status of Spanish rural populations has been studied by anthropometric history. But despite this undoubted progress, we hardly have comparative studies on the height and biological inequality between agrarian zones of different productive specialization (irrigated and dryland agriculture). OBJECTIVES: to analyse the nutritional inequality in agrarian zones of different productive specialization in Mediterranean Spain (irrigated and dryland agriculture) during the process of modernization. METHODS: we use height data of 146,041 conscripts called for recruitment in ten municipalities (72,557 in irrigated areas and 73,514 in dryland areas). We estimate average height, coefficients of variation and percentiles according to agrarian specialization. RESULTS: between the cohorts of 1840 and 1965 the nutritional status improved. The average height grew 9.1 cm. The conscripts measured in the irrigated areas were higher than the conscripts measured in the dryland areas (differences of 1.8 cm). At the end of the study period, the average height growth was greater in the irrigated ones. The analysis of coefficients of variation (CV) and percentiles show, however, that the nutritional inequality was greater in dryland areas. CONCLUSIONS: there are significant differences in the average height according to patterns of agrarian specialization in Mediterranean Spain and a clear relative advantage in irrigated areas versus dryland. Various explanatory factors that could be future research lines are discussed.

Introducción: desde la década de 2000 el estado nutricional de las poblaciones rurales españolas ha sido objeto de estudio por parte de la historia antropométrica. A pesar de este indudable avance, apenas contamos con ensayos comparativos sobre la estatura y la desigualdad biológica entre zonas agrarias de distinta especialización productiva (regadío y secano).Objetivos: analizar la desigualdad del estado nutricional en zonas agrarias de distinta especialización productiva en la España mediterránea (regadío y secano) durante el proceso de modernización.Métodos: usamos los datos de estatura de 146.041 mozos llamados al reclutamiento en diez municipios (72.557 observaciones en regadío y 73.514 en secano). Estimamos promedios de talla, coeficientes de variación y percentiles según zona de secano y regadío.Resultados: entre las cohortes de 1840 y 1965 mejoró el estado nutricional. La altura promedio creció 9,1 cm. En las zonas de regadío fueron más altos que en las de secano (con diferencias de 1,8 cm). Al final del periodo, el mayor incremento de la talla media se registra en el regadío. El análisis de los coeficientes de variación (CV) y de los percentiles muestran, sin embargo, que la desigualdad nutricional fue mayor en las zonas de secano.Conclusiones: se advierten diferencias significativas de talla media según patrones de especialización agraria en la España mediterránea y una clara ventaja relativa en las zonas de riego frente a las de secano. Se discuten distintos factores explicativos que podrían ser futuras líneas de investigación.

Reforma sanitaria, salud pública y bienestar biológico durante la industrialización española: el caso de Alcoy, 1840-1915 / Sanitary reform, public health and biological welfare during spanish industrialization: the case of Alcoy, 1840-1915

En este artículo analizamos los efectos que la reforma sanitaria tuvo sobre el bienestar biológico y la salud de las poblaciones españolas durante el proceso de industrialización. Examinamos el caso de Alcoy, una de las ciudades pioneras de la industrialización española. Los presupuestos municipales en salud pública y los datos de estatura de los reemplazos militares constituyen las principales fuentes para su estudio. Los resultados muestran que los comienzos de la reforma sanitaria, a finales del siglo XIX, supusieron una mejora no sólo de las condiciones ambientales y de salubridad de la ciudad, sino también del estado de salud de su población residente. Hasta que los políticos liberales no incrementaron las dotaciones presupuestarias en el campo de la salud pública y las infraestructuras urbanas, Alcoy sufrió los lastres iniciales del urban penalty con secuelas negativas que se manifestaron directamente en el aumento de la morbi-mortalidad y la caída de la estatura. Los datos sugieren una relación positiva entre políticas activas de salud pública y bienestar biológico (AU)

This article analyses the effects of the sanitary reform on the biological welfare and the Health of the Spanish population during the industrialization process. Examines the case of Alcoy, one of the pioneer hubs of the Spanish industrialization. The main sources of the study are the municipality budgets of Public Health and the stature of the conscripts. Results show that the starting of the sanitary reform, in the late 19th, meant not only an improvement of the conditions and the salubrity of the city, but of the resident´s state of health. Until the liberal politicians did not increase the public health and the urban infrastructures assignments on the Budgets, Alcoy suffered the initial problems of the urban penalty, with negative effects that were revealed directly in the increasing morbi-mortality and the falling stature. Data suggest a positive correlation between active public health politics and biological welfare (AU)