International Union for Circumpolar Health Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of RF Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences Medical Polar Fund “Science” The Northern Forum

Abstracts

Child health. Women`s health

Growth in Greenland Development of body proportions and menarcheal age in Greenlandic children. Finn Gottfried Becker-Christensen The Hospital of Maniitsoq, Greenland email: saven@dadlnet.dk ABSTRACT No recent investigations of child growth in Greenland are available. Owing to the secular trend, earlier investigations are of limited clinical value. For this reason I have studied together with my staff the most important anthropometric measurements in schoolchildren in Maniitsoq. We recorded the weight, standing height, sitting height, armspan, and menarcheal age. After the exclusion of ten children who either were suffering from conditions known to influence growth or in whom some of the anthropometric data were lacking, 299 boys and 280 girls remained in the study. The 589 children were between 5-19 years old. Compared to a similar study in Maniitsoq undertaken a little more than 30 years ago, 14-year old children in Maniitsoq increased standing height by 10 cms or even more. Up to the age of 14, Greenlandic boys now follow the Danish curves for standing height, then flatten out to a final mean height about 7 cms below the Danish level. The girls´ growth curves follow the Danish ones only to the age of 11 years, and then flatten out to a final height of 5 cms below the Danish level. A somewhat higher sitting height ratio was recorded for both sexes compared to Danish children. The mean menarcheal age was 12,64 years. During the course of 100 years menarcheal age in Greenland has been reduced by three years, and is now 3 months below that in Denmark.

Note. Abstracts are published in author's edition

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