Harvard researchers link mother's height to child's health

A mother's height is a major factor in determining the health of the children. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found a link between a mother's height and the health of her children in a study using national data from India.

Children with mothers shorter than 4 foot 9 inches were 70 percent more likely to die than those whose mothers were at least 5 foot 3 inches tall. Maternal height was viewed as an indicator reflecting a mother's own childhood health environment, and thus the study suggests Indian women are effectively passing along their early health status to the next generation.

The height of the father was found to be associated with an increased risk of being underweight or having stunted growth; however, paternal height was not associated with child mortality.

The study was conducted by associate professor SV Subramanian and Neetu John, a masters student, both in the HSPH Department of Society, Human Development and Health, and colleagues Leland Ackerson from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and George Davey Smith of the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. The research was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

United Nations Chidren's Fund says that more than 2 million children younger than five years old died in India in 2006, more than in any other country and making up roughly a quarter of all child deaths worldwide. The study was conducted using the data from India's 2005-06 National Family Health Survey, which is taken from a representative sample of households across India. More than 50,000 children under age five were included in the survey.

The researchers specifically looked at the height of mothers and health indicators for children under age five.

Some scientists believe that the size of a woman's uterus may be the biological link between her height and her child's health. A smaller uterus may be leading to more complications during pregnancy and therefore less healthy children even though the precise mechanism through which this association is expressed remains unclear.

Another important finding is that the effects of a mother's own childhood health could impact the health of her children. "Our findings suggest the presence of inter-generational transfer of poor health from mother to offspring. Notably, since maternal height itself is a consequence of a mother's childhood environment, our study is suggestive of the long-run and durable adverse impact of poor childhood conditions of the mother on the health of her offspring 15 to 30 years later," Professor Subramanian commented.

Earlier researches focused on factors during pregnancy and early childhood that influence a child's health outcomes, but there has been little research on the impact of the health of a child's parents.

"I think what the study shows is the critical need to invest in children, and especially girls as the pay off is not only for them as children and adults, but for their offspring as well," he said.

The research was funded by a National Institutes of Health Career Development award granted to Professor Subramanian.