Publication: Month of birth and height. A case study in rural Spain
Loading...
Date
2022-07-06
Authors
Candela Martínez, Begoña ; Ramallo-Ros, Salvador ; Cañabate, José ; Martínez Carrión, José Miguel
item.page.secondaryauthor
Facultad de Economía y Empresa
item.page.director
Publisher
Elsevier
publication.page.editor
publication.page.department
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2022.101157
item.page.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
Introduction: Season of birth correlates to a wide range of health conditions throughout life measured by anthropometrics. This study explores whether the month of birth and weather during gestation influence male adult height, based on Spain’s rural population before the end of the modernization process. Methods: The database of heights (N = 16.266) is composed of conscripts who reached the age of 21 between 1908 and 1985 (birth cohorts 1886–1965). The population sample has been taken from a municipality in inner Spain: Hellín, in the region of Castilla-La Mancha, mainly an agrarian area, with poor resources and low income until the 1970 s/1980 s. Two different methodologies have been implemented: a harmonic regression using sinusoidal covariables and a random forest model. Results: we find that being born at the end of the summer and during the autumn was favorable to height. The birth month with the highest statures is September, with heights 0.5 cm above the annual average and 0.9 cm above February, the birth month with the lowest average height. Furthermore, we can observe that rainfall and temperature during gestation had little additional influence due to a substitution effect with the birth month variable. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the seasonal effects on height can be significant and that it can be partially affected by environmental factors during early life. Our findings could be of interest for low-income populations and developing rural societies.
publication.page.subject
Citation
Economics and Human Biology 47 (2022) 101157
item.page.embargo
Collections
Ir a Estadísticas
Este ítem está sujeto a una licencia Creative Commons. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/