Child height, health and human capital: Evidence using genetic markers.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: von Hinke Kessler Scholder S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4318168 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:In this paper we review the associations between maternal and child undernutrition with human capital and risk of adult diseases in low-income and middle-income countries. We analysed data from five long-standing prospective cohort studies from Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa and noted that indices of maternal and child undernutrition (maternal height, birthweight, intrauterine growth restriction, and weight, height, and body-mass index at 2 years according to the new WHO growth standards) were related to adult outcomes (height, schooling, income or assets, offspring birthweight, body-mass index, glucose concentrations, blood pressure). We undertook systematic reviews of studies from low-income and middle-income countries for these outcomes and for indicators related to blood lipids, cardiovascular disease, lung and immune function, cancers, osteoporosis, and mental illness. Undernutrition was strongly associated, both in the review of published work and in new analyses, with shorter adult height, less schooling, reduced economic productivity, and--for women--lower offspring birthweight. Associations with adult disease indicators were not so clear-cut. Increased size at birth and in childhood were positively associated with adult body-mass index and to a lesser extent with blood pressure values, but not with blood glucose concentrations. In our new analyses and in published work, lower birthweight and undernutrition in childhood were risk factors for high glucose concentrations, blood pressure, and harmful lipid profiles once adult body-mass index and height were adjusted for, suggesting that rapid postnatal weight gain--especially after infancy--is linked to these conditions. The review of published works indicates that there is insufficient information about long-term changes in immune function, blood lipids, or osteoporosis indicators. Birthweight is positively associated with lung function and with the incidence of some cancers, and undernutrition could be associated with mental illness. We noted that height-for-age at 2 years was the best predictor of human capital and that undernutrition is associated with lower human capital. We conclude that damage suffered in early life leads to permanent impairment, and might also affect future generations. Its prevention will probably bring about important health, educational, and economic benefits. Chronic diseases are especially common in undernourished children who experience rapid weight gain after infancy.
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Project description:Education is strongly correlated with health outcomes in older adulthood. Whether the impact of education expansion improves health remains unclear due to a lack of clarity over the causal relationship. Previous health research within the social sciences has tended to use specific activities of daily living or self-reported health status. This study uses a broader and objective health measure - allostatic load (AL) - to take into consideration the exposures that accumulate throughout the life course. This paper applies a Mendelian Randomization (MR) approach to identify causality in relation to education on health as measured by AL. Using the Health and Retirement Study 2008 (N=3935), we adopt a polygenic score built from genetic variants associated with years of education. To test whether our analyses violate the exclusion assumption, we further run MR Egger regressions to test for bias from pleiotropy. We also explore the potential pathways between education and AL, including smoking, drinking, marital length, health insurance, etc. Using this genetic instrument, we find a 0.3 unit (19% of a standard deviation) reduction in AL per year of schooling. The effect is mainly driven by BMI and Hba1c. Smoking and marital stability are two potential pathways that also causally influenced by education. If our main and sensitivity analyses are valid, the results find support that a higher level of education is causally related to better health in older adulthood.
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Project description:Rhode Island Child Health Study
| PRJNA454113 | ENA
Project description:Rhode Island Child Health Study
| PRJNA454114 | ENA
Project description:OBJECTIVE. To evaluate the extent of racial gaps in child health insurance coverage in South America and study the contribution of wealth, human capital, and other household characteristics to accounting for racial disparities in insurance coverage. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING. Primary data collected between 2005 and 2006 in 30 pediatric practices in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Chile. DESIGN. Country-specific regression models are used to assess differences in insurance coverage by race. A decomposition model is used to quantify the extent to which wealth, human capital, and other household characteristics account for racial disparities in insurance coverage. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS. In-person interviews were conducted with the mothers of 2,365 children. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. The majority of children have no insurance coverage except in Chile. Large racial disparities in insurance coverage are observed. Household wealth is the single most important household-level factor accounting for racial disparities in coverage and is significantly and positively associated with coverage, followed by maternal education and employment/occupational status. Geographic differences account for the largest part of racial disparities in insurance coverage in Argentina and Ecuador. CONCLUSIONS. Increasing the coverage of children in less affluent families is important for reducing racial gaps in health insurance coverage in the study countries.
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Project description:BACKGROUND:Evidence on height and prostate cancer risk is mixed, however, recent studies with large data sets support a possible role for its association with the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. METHODS:We analysed data from the PRACTICAL consortium consisting of 6207 prostate cancer cases and 6016 controls and a subset of high grade cases (2480 cases). We explored height, polymorphisms in genes related to growth processes as main effects and their possible interactions. RESULTS:The results suggest that height is associated with high-grade prostate cancer risk. Men with height >180?cm are at a 22% increased risk as compared to men with height <173?cm (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.48). Genetic variants in the growth pathway gene showed an association with prostate cancer risk. The aggregate scores of the selected variants identified a significantly increased risk of overall prostate cancer and high-grade prostate cancer by 13% and 15%, respectively, in the highest score group as compared to lowest score group. CONCLUSIONS:There was no evidence of gene-environment interaction between height and the selected candidate SNPs.Our findings suggest a role of height in high-grade prostate cancer. The effect of genetic variants in the genes related to growth is seen in all cases and high-grade prostate cancer. There is no interaction between these two exposures.
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