Background: Children’s exposure to stress predicts poor health. Poor growth and maturation are recognized indicators of poor health.
Hypothesis: SE correlates with height, BMI and menarche.
Methods: Data for 71 countries of average men and women’s height from 1992-1996 were obtained from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration dataset and for BMI and menarche age were collected from WHO reports. The correlation with seven stress indicators:: annual homicide rate, GDP per capita, income inequality (Gini coefficient), corruption perception, urban air pollution and life expectancy at birth was assessed. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the original data clustered the stress indicators, and clusters` effect on height, BMI and menarche age was assessed by regression analysis.
Results: The SE indicators clustered into QOL(pollution, life expectancy, GDP and corruption) and Social factor ( homicide and inequality perception). The QOL correlated positively with male (r=0.63; p<0.0001) and female height (r=0.55; p<0.0001) and with male BMI (r=0.41, p=<0.0001), while female BMI (quadr=0.38, p=0.024) and menarche age showed U-shape regression (quadR=0.57, p<0.0001).The Social cluster correlated negatively with male (r=0.46, p<0.0001) and female height (r=0.44, p<0.0001) and female but not male BMI (r=0.47, p<0.0001).
Conclusions: 1. Adult height, as a measure of child’s growth, is strong and BMI weak indicator of SE. 2. Women’s BMI is low and menarche is strongly delayed in the lowest and less so in the highest QOL score countries. 3. The strongest indicator for poor growth is the QOL: pollution, life expectancy, GDP and corruption, followed by Social factor: homicide and economic inequality.
