@misc{HermanussenIpsenMummetal.2016,
  author    = {Hermanussen, Michael and Ipsen, Josefin and Mumm, Rebekka and Assmann, Christian and Quitmann, Julia and Gomula, Aleksandra and Lehmann, Andreas and Jasch, Isabelle and Tassenaar, Vincent and Bogin, Barry and Satake, Takashi and Scheffler, Christiane and Nunez, Javier and Godina, Elena and Hardeland, Ruediger and Boldsen, Jesper L. and El-Shabrawi, Mortada and Elhusseini, Mona and Barbu, Carmen Gabriela and Pop, Ralucca and Soederhaell, Jani and Merker, Andrea and Swanson, James and Groth, Detlef},
  title     = {Stunted Growth. Proceedings of the 23rd Aschauer Soiree, Held at Aschauhof, Germany, November 7th 2015},
  series = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews},
  publisher = {Medical Media},
  address   = {Netanya},
  issn      = {1565-4753},
  pages     = {756 -- 767},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Twenty-four scientists met at Aschauhof, Altenhof, Germany, to discuss the associations between child growth and development, and nutrition, health, environment and psychology. Meta-analyses of body height, height variability and household inequality, in historic and modern growth studies published since 1794, highlighting the enormously flexible patterns of child and adolescent height and weight increments throughout history which do not only depend on genetics, prenatal development, nutrition, health, and economic circumstances, but reflect social interactions. A Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth Questionnaire was presented to cross-culturally assess health-related quality of life in children. Changes of child body proportions in recent history, the relation between height and longevity in historic Dutch samples and also measures of body height in skeletal remains belonged to the topics of this meeting. Bayesian approaches and Monte Carlo simulations offer new statistical tools for the study of human growth.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{IpsenNowakSzczepanskaGomulaetal.2016,
  author    = {Ipsen, Marie Josephin and Nowak-Szczepanska, Natalia and Gomula, A. and Assmann, Christian and Hermanussen, Michael},
  title     = {The association of body height, height variability and inequality},
  series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\~A}¼r Anthropologie},
  volume    = {73},
  journal   = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\~A}¼r Anthropologie},
  publisher = {Schweizerbart},
  address   = {Stuttgart},
  issn      = {0003-5548},
  doi       = {10.1127/anthranz/2015/0623},
  pages     = {1 -- 6},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Body height is associated with environmental conditions. It has been suggested that under poor conditions when inequality within a population increases, also the variability in height tends to increase. We studied the association of body height, within-country variability in height and geographic and historic origin in 767 growth studies carried out in 80 countries, published between 1794 and 2013, with data on N = 78,184 infants age 2 years, and N = 2,130,729 juveniles age 7 years. The studies represent almost the whole spectrum of economic diversity in human societies since the end-18 th century. 207 studies contained data for both infants and juveniles with 50,819 subjects (age 2), and 123,078 subjects (age 7). Multiple linear regressions showed significant interactions between height, sex, historic year of the study, geographic origin, and within-study standard deviation for height with multiple R-squared = 0.527, p < 0.001, at age 2, and multiple R-squared = 0.436, p < 0.001, at age 7. Yet, the two age groups differed in respect to within-study standard deviation for height. We found a significant association between body height and within-study standard deviation for height only at age 2: tall infant populations are less variable in height (r = -0.27, p < 0.01). There was no such association in children aged 7 years. Tall children from affluent and short children from less affluent countries do not differ in the variability of body height. The data suggest that the 'environmental adversity' hypothesis for variation in growth: small mean values for height go along with large standard deviations for height, does not apply for children at age 7.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{HermanussenAssmannStaubetal.2016,
  author    = {Hermanussen, Michael and Assmann, Christian and Staub, K. and Groth, Detlef},
  title     = {Monte Carlo simulation of body height in a spatial network},
  series = {European journal of clinical nutrition},
  volume    = {70},
  journal   = {European journal of clinical nutrition},
  publisher = {Nature Publ. Group},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {0954-3007},
  doi       = {10.1038/ejcn.2016.45},
  pages     = {671 -- 678},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Recent evidence suggests clustering of human body height. We want to assess the consequences of connectedness in a spatial network on height clustering in an artificial society. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We used an agent-based computer modelling technique (Monte Carlo simulation) and compared simulated height in a spatial network with characteristics of the observed geographic height distribution of three historic cohorts of Swiss military conscripts (conscripted in 1884-1891; 1908-1910; and 2004-2009). RESULTS: Conscript height shows several characteristic features: (1) height distributions are overdispersed. (2) Conscripts from districts with direct inter-district road connections tend to be similar in height. (3) Clusters of tall and clusters of short stature districts vary over time. Autocorrelations in height between late 19th and early 21st century districts are low. (4) Mean district height depends on the number of connecting roads and on the number of conscripts per district. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we were able to generate these natural characteristics in an artificial society. Already 5\% height information from directly connected districts is sufficient to simulate the characteristics of natural height distribution. Very similar observations in regular rectangular networks indicate that the characteristics of Swiss conscript height distributions do not so much result from the particular Swiss geography but rather appear to be general features of spatial networks. CONCLUSIONS: Spatial connectedness can affect height clustering in an artificial society, similar to that seen in natural cohorts of military conscripts, and strengthen the concept of connectedness being involved in the regulation of human height.},
  language  = {en}
}