| Abstract: | Age and secular factors in adult stature were investigated in a sample of 111 Zapotec-speaking males from Oaxaca, Mexico. Comparisons with earlier studies showed no clear evidence of a secular trend. The increase in stature due to age and secular factors was approximately 0.07 cm per year (significant, p < 0.05). When stature was adjusted for the estimated age effects, the estimated secular increase was 0.03 cm per year (not significant). By this analysis a secular trend in adult stature of the magnitude noted for industrialized countries apparently does not occur in developing areas. |
