The effect of socioeconomic factors on growth was investigated among 2275 children 3 to 6 years old attending nurseries in the Czech Republic. Measured heights of children were converted into height-for-age z scores. After adjustment for birthweight, parental height, and other socioeconomic variables, only mother's education was independently and significantly associated with children's height; adjusted differences in z scores between children of secondary- and university-educated mothers and children of mothers with only primary education were 0.12 and 0.31, respectively. This is equivalent to 0.5 and 1.5 cm, respectively, for children 5 years old.

Department of Epidemiology Charles University Prague Czech Republic

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