Zbigniew Czapla

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is Related to Decreased Weight in the Preschool Period and to Increased Rate of Overweight in School-Age Boys

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have associated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with growth deviations and obesity. However, available data regarding the growth of children with ADHD in their early childhood are insufficient. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether there are differences in body size between preschool boys with and without ADHD. METHODS The study used cross-sectional and retrospective longitudinal data concerning 112 boys with ADHD and a community-based sample of 308 boys without ADHD. The groups were homogeneous in terms of socioeconomic status, place of residence, term of birth, and birth weight. The average age of diagnosis was 8.3 years, and none of boys had been treated with stimulants before they were 7 years of age. Comparisons were made at the ages of 2, 4, and 6 years, for World Health Organization (WHO)-norm-standardized height, weight, body mass index (BMI), prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity. Separate analysis were made for the cross-sectional measurements of current body size. RESULTS Boys with ADHD at the age of 2 had significantly lower z scores for weight (t=-1.98, p=0.04) and BMI (t=-2.09, p=0.04), and at the age of 4 for weight (t=-2.05, p=0.04) than the boys from the control group. A significantly lower percentage of overweight/obesity was observed in boys with ADHD at the age of 2 in comparison with the control group. At the age of 6, boys with ADHD were underweight more often. Cross-sectional analysis of current body size showed that boys with ADHD had lower z scores for height (t=-3.08, p=0.002) and higher z scores (t=3.13, p=0.002) for BMI. Overweight was more frequent in this group. CONCLUSIONS Preschool boys with ADHD (age of 2-6 years) have a tendency toward lower body weight than their peers. But in subsequent phases of development, they are shorter and more frequently overweight than boys without ADHD, when place of residence, socioeconomic status, term of birth, birth weight, comorbid conditions, and treatment are controlled.

Body mass index values of conscripts in the Polish lands under Prussian rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

The Body Mass Index (BMI) of conscripts from the Polish lands under Prussian rule and its causative factors and changes over time was to characterize. A total of 9965 conscripts aged 20 were examined. Differences in the mean BMI were tested using one-way analysis of variance ANOVA and Tukeys-test (post-hoc test). Factor analysis and multiple regression were employed. The highest BMI values characterized sons of peasants, workers and craftsmen, and the lowest, sons of intelligentsia: the difference for peasants/intelligentsia -0.59kg/m(2) (p=0.0004), and that for workers/intelligentsia and craftsmen/intelligentsia, 0.48 and 0.5kg/m(2) (p=0.0004 and p=0.0057, respectively). The difference in BMI of conscripts from the first and last birth cohorts was 0.61kg/m(2) (p=0.0001). The highest BMI values were noted in conscripts from villages (21.50kg/m(2)), and the lowest, in those from towns (21.15kg/m(2)) and cities (21.19kg/m(2)). The differences for village/town and village/city were statistically significant (p=0.0026 and p=0.0026, respectively). The BMI difference between Poles and Germans was 0.35kg/m(2) (higher value among Poles).

Height as an indicator of economic status in the Polish territories under Russian rule at the turn of the 19th to 20th century.

Height is regarded as one of the indicators of environmental stress at population level, being an excellent barometer of standard of living. The aim of this study was to describe diversity in height among populations living in different regions of the Kingdom of Poland in terms of the economic factors in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century. This study examines the height of adult inhabitants from five guberniyas (provinces) of the Kingdom of Poland (Łomża, Warsaw, Radom, Kalisz and Płock) collected in the years 1897-1914 (N = 732 men, N = 569 women). Differences in average height of male and female inhabitants across the five guberniyas were examined using ANOVA and the Fishers LSD (Least Significant Difference) test of multiple comparisons. Statistically significant differences in the height between the guberniyas were observed. Diversity in the economic development in the studied guberniyas of the Kingdom of Poland translated into differences in the height of their inhabitants. Moreover, an increase in mean height over time was noted.

BODY MASS INDEX VALUES IN THE GENTRY AND PEASANTRY IN NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY POLAND

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of social and occupational status on the BMI of the gentry and peasantry in the Kingdom of Poland at the turn of 19th and early 20th centuries. Use was made of data on the height and weight of 304 men, including 200 peasants and 104 gentlemen, and 275 women, including 200 from the peasantry and 75 from the gentry. Gentlemen were characterized by a greater body height than peasants (169.40 cm and 166.96 cm, respectively), a greater body weight (67.09 kg and 60.99 kg, respectively) and a higher BMI (23.33 kg/m2 and 21.83 kg/m2, respectively). Landowners and intelligentsia had a greater BMI than peasants (23.12 kg/m2 and 24.20 kg/m2 vs 21.83 kg/m2, respectively). In the case of women, there were no statistically significant differences in mean height, weight and BMI by their social position, and in BMI by occupational status. Underweight occurred less frequently in the gentry and more frequently in the peasantry (0.97% and 2.04%, respectively). Overweight was five times more common in gentlemen than in peasants (26.21% and 5.10%, respectively). Differences in the BMI of gentlefolk and peasants resulted from differences in diet and lifestyle related to socioeconomic status.

Body size of young adult Polish college-age women born before, during, and after WWII

The aim of this study was to compare the young adult body size of Polish female university students born before, during, and after WWII.

Age at menarche in Polish University students born before, during and after World War II: Economic effects

HighlightsStudents born during WWII attained menarche later than those born in the pre‐war and post‐war periods.Age at menarche was significantly earlier in overweight than in normal weight and thin students.The influence father’s level of education on age at menarche was apparent in thin and normal weight, but not in overweight students. Abstract Although the relationships between economic conditions and biological variables over the past two centuries in Poland are reasonably well‐documented, the influence of economic and political disruptions, including nutritional privation, during the years immediately before, during and shortly after World War II (WWII) has received less attention. This paper considers the association between age at menarche and body size of university students born before, during and after WWII and father’s level of education, a commonly used indicator of family economic status in Poland. Subjects were 518 university students surveyed between 1955 and 1972, birth years 1931 through 1951. The sample was divided into three birth cohorts: before (n = 237), during (n = 247) and after (n = 34) WWII. Age at menarche was compared among birth cohorts, and by weight status and father’s level of education. Age at menarche increased slightly but significantly among women born during WWII (14.4 yrs) compared to those born before (14.2 yrs) and after (13.9 yrs) the war. Controlling for year of birth and age of the student, age at menarche was significantly earlier in overweight (13.42 ± 0.35 yrs) than in normal weight (14.33 ± 0.06 yrs) and thin (14.54 ± 0.21 yrs) women. Adjusted mean ages at menarche in small samples of overweight women did not differ by father’s level of education, and were earlier than corresponding ages of thin and normal weight women. Adjusted mean ages at menarche did not differ between thin and normal weight women with fathers having primary or no education, but were slightly later in thin than in normal weight women with fathers having a vocational, secondary or higher education. Although age at menarche was associated with father’s level of education, young adult weight status was a somewhat more important correlate.