BACKGROUND: Seasons affect many social, economic, and biological outcomes, particularly in low-resource settings, and some studies suggest that birth season affects child growth. AIM: To study a predictor of stunting that has received limited attention: birth season. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study uses cross-sectional data collected during 2008 in a low-resource society of horticulturists-foragers in the Bolivian Amazon, Tsimane'. It estimates the associations between birth months and height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) for 562 girls and 546 boys separately, from birth until age 11 years or pre-puberty, which in this society occurs ∼13-14 years. RESULTS: Children born during the rainy season (February-May) were shorter, while children born during the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy season (August-November) were taller, both compared with their age-sex peers born during the rest of the year. The correlations of birth season with HAZ were stronger for boys than for girls. Controlling for birth season, there is some evidence of eventual partial catch-up growth, with the HAZ of girls or boys worsening until ∼ age 4-5 years, but improving thereafter. By age 6 years, many girls and boys had ceased to be stunted, irrespective of birth season. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that redressing stunting will require attention to conditions in utero, infancy and late childhood.

• Klíčová slova
• Tsimane', birth month, generalised additive model, sex differences, stunting,
• MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• indiáni Jižní Ameriky statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• porod MeSH
• poruchy růstu epidemiologie   etiologie   MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• puberta MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• tělesná výška * MeSH
• vývoj dítěte * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Bolívie epidemiologie   MeSH

Researchers have shown interest in the relation between (a) social capital and individual income and (b) the individual health of people of industrial nations. The socioeconomic complexity of industrial nations makes it difficult to arrive at firm conclusions. We circumvent the obstacle by using data from a small-scale rural society of foragers-farmers in the Bolivian Amazon (Tsimane'). We examine the interactions between the outcome (BMI) and relative income, relative social capital, village income, and village social capital. We test three hypotheses: people in villages with more social capital should have higher BMI, the positive association between social capital and BMI will be more marked among the less well-off, and better-off people who display generosity will have higher BMI than better-off people who do not. On the methodological side we show the importance of: focusing on relative measures of income and social capital, estimating interaction between community and relative measures of income and social capital, and showing results through contour plots that summarize the relation between BMI and pairs of explanatory variables. On the substantive side we find evidence that village social capital and village income complement each other and are associated with higher BMI, the rich who are stingy have lower BMI than the rich who display generosity, and increase in village income might reduce individual incentives to invest in social capital. We explore interactions between explanatory variables and their influence on BMI, and end by recommending the use of an experimental research design to obtain unbiased estimates of causal effects.

• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• index tělesné hmotnosti * MeSH
• indiáni Jižní Ameriky MeSH
• interpersonální vztahy MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• populační skupiny * MeSH
• příjem * MeSH
• sociální žádoucnost * MeSH
• sociologie MeSH
• společenská kontrola neformální * MeSH
• společenská třída MeSH
• teoretické modely MeSH
• venkovské obyvatelstvo MeSH
• zdravotní stav * MeSH
• zemědělství MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Bolívie MeSH