@article{MartinDorjeeGrothetal.2020, author = {Martin, Lidia and Dorjee, Binu and Groth, Detlef and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Positive influence of parental education on growth of children}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger}, volume = {77}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart science publishers}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2020/1177}, pages = {375 -- 387}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In nature, dominance is often shown by body size; even in humans many studies report that social status is associated with body height. In today's society, educational status is an important factor for social classification. Since growing children do not have their own educational or social status, they are often affected by the status of their parents. Therefore, the question appears, whether parental educational status measurably affects the growth of a child. If so, is this explainable by the nutritional factors? To test this hypothesis, seven different Indian data sets where reexamined using the St. Nicolas House Analysis. The results show a direct association between parental education and body height (hSDS) of the child, but there was no influence of parental education on the nutritional status. We conclude that education has a direct effect on height that is not mediated via nutrition.}, language = {en} } @article{RybakBentsKruegeretal.2020, author = {Rybak, Alexander and Bents, Dominik and Kr{\"u}ger, Johanna and Groth, Detlef}, title = {The end of the secular trend in Norway}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {77}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2020/1254}, pages = {415 -- 421}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Aim: We aimed to examine the distribution and secular changes of conscript body height in the geographic network of Norway since 1878 and to study its association with the degree of urbanization, and population density. Material and methods: Data on body height of Norwegian military conscripts were provided by the Statistics Norway Department (SSB). The sample comprised eight cohorts with the following measurement years: 1st 1877, 1878 and 1880, 2nd 18951897, 3rd 1915-1917, 4th 1935-1937, 5th 1955-1957, 6th 1975-1977, 7th 1995-1997, and 8th 2009-2011. For determining neighborhood correlations, a network was created consisting of neighboring counties, sharing a common border. Results: Average body height of Norwegian men increased by 10.9 cm between 1878 and 2010, but this trend was heterogeneous. Some counties increased by more than 1 cm per decade (Finmark) others by only 7 mm per decade (Sor-Trondelag). Urban counties and counties with higher population density showed stronger height trends than rural counties. The largest spread in body height between the various counties was observed in 1936 when for the first time people living in the more urban counties got taller than rural people. The height advantage of urban counties however, disappeared after 1996. At this time, also the secular trend in height had come to a halt. The secular trend in height had become obvious after the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 and World War I, and was strongest between 1936 and 1956. During this period maximum between-county heterogeneity in height existed with body height differences of more than 6 cm between the tallest and the shortest county. The end of this period was characterized by social democratic reforms that flattened the income distribution, eliminated poverty, and ensured social services after World War II. Conclusion: The temporal coincidence between the trends in height, the degree of urbanization and the onset of the political transition of Norway from a Swedish province into an independent democratic wealthy modern European state after World War I and particularly after World War II, and the abatement of this trend after this period of transition had stabilized, suggest social and political components interfering with the regulation of physical growth in humans.}, language = {en} } @article{GryzikHoangLischkeetal.2020, author = {Gryzik, Stefanie and Hoang, Yen and Lischke, Timo and Mohr, Elodie and Venzke, Melanie and Kadner, Isabelle and P{\"o}tzsch, Josephine and Groth, Detlef and Radbruch, Andreas and Hutloff, Andreas and Baumgrass, Ria}, title = {Identification of a super-functional Tfh-like subpopulation in murine lupus by pattern perception}, series = {eLife}, volume = {9}, journal = {eLife}, publisher = {eLife Sciences Publications}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2050-084X}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.53226}, pages = {21}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Dysregulated cytokine expression by T cells plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. However, the identification of the corresponding pathogenic subpopulations is a challenge, since a distinction between physiological variation and a new quality in the expression of protein markers requires combinatorial evaluation. Here, we were able to identify a super-functional follicular helper T cell (Tfh)-like subpopulation in lupus-prone NZBxW mice with our binning approach "pattern recognition of immune cells (PRI)". PRI uncovered a subpopulation of IL-21(+) IFN-gamma(high) PD-1(low) CD40L(high) CXCR5(-) Bcl-6(-) T cells specifically expanded in diseased mice. In addition, these cells express high levels of TNF-alpha and IL-2, and provide B cell help for IgG production in an IL-21 and CD40L dependent manner. This super-functional T cell subset might be a superior driver of autoimmune processes due to a polyfunctional and high cytokine expression combined with Tfh-like properties.}, language = {en} } @article{MaqsoodNaumenkoHermanussenetal.2020, author = {Maqsood, Arusa and Naumenko, Daniel J. and Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane and Groth, Detlef}, title = {No correlation between short term weight gain and lower leg length gain in healthy German children}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {77}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2020/1237}, pages = {399 -- 403}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Background: Length-for-age is considered the indicator of choice in monitoring the long-term impact of chronic nutritional deficiency. Aim: We hypothesized that short term increments of body weight cross-correlate with increments of the lower leg length. Sample and methods: We re-analyzed the association between weekly measurements of weight and of lower leg length in 34 healthy German children, aged 2.9-15.9 years. The data are a subset of measurements originally published in 1988 (Hermanussen et al. 1988a). As the growth measurements were often not equally spaced in time due to interposed holidays and illness, the incremental rates for weight and lower leg length were smoothed using spline functions. Autocorrelation and cross-correlation functions were calculated for weight increments and lower leg length increments. Results: Height and weight increments are pulsatile. Autocorrelations indicated that mini growth spurts occur at irregular intervals. Lack of cross-correlations between weight and lower leg length indicated that mini spurts in weight gain do not coincide with mini spurts in length gain even when considering lag times of up to 10 weeks. Short term changes of weight gain and lower leg length gain in healthy children show no temporal association.}, language = {en} } @article{HermanussenGrothScheffler2020, author = {Hermanussen, Michael and Groth, Detlef and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Statistical approaches to developmental and growth data of children and adolescents}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {77}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2020/1302}, pages = {355 -- 357}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @article{ApanasewiczGrothScheffleretal.2020, author = {Apanasewicz, Anna and Groth, Detlef and Scheffler, Christiane and Hermanussen, Michael and Piosek, Magdalena and Wychowaniec, Patrycja and Babiszewska, Magdalena and Barbarska, Olga and Ziomkiewicz, Anna}, title = {Traumatized women's infants are bigger than children of mothers without traumas}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger}, volume = {77}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart science publishers}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2020/1285}, pages = {359 -- 374}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Life history theory predicts that experiencing stress during the early period of life will result in accelerated growth and earlier maturation. Indeed, animal and some human studies documented a faster pace of growth in the offspring of stressed mothers. Recent advances in epigenetics suggest that the effects of early developmental stress might be passed across the generations. However, evidence for such intergenerational transmission is scarce, at least in humans. Here we report the results of the study investigating the association between childhood trauma in mothers and physical growth in their children during the first months of life. Anthropometric and psychological data were collected from 99 mothers and their exclusively breastfed children at the age of 5 months. The mothers completed the Early Life Stress Questionnaire to assess childhood trauma. The questionnaire includes questions about the most traumatic events that they had experienced before the age of 12 years. Infant growth was evaluated based on the anthropometric measurements of weight, length, and head circumference. Also, to control for the size of maternal investment, the composition of breast milk samples taken at the time of infant anthropometric measurements was investigated. The children of mothers with higher early life stress tended to have higher weight and bigger head circumference. The association between infant anthropometrics and early maternal stress was not affected by breast milk composition, suggesting that the effect of maternal stress on infant growth was independent of the size of maternal investment. Our results demonstrate that early maternal trauma may affect the pace of growth in the offspring and, in consequence, lead to a faster life history strategy. This effect might be explained via changes in offspring epigenetics.}, language = {en} }