Stature and stature distribution in recent West German and historic samples of Italian and Dutch conscripts.

Based on the standard for the natural distribution of stature obtained from 11,851,168 West German conscripts (born in 1938-1971), stature and stature distribution were investigated in historic samples of Italian (born 1854-1963) and Dutch (drafts of 1863-1970) conscripts. Both stature and stature distribution in the historic Italian and Dutch samples showed a variety of characteristic deviations from the natural stature distribution of the modern populations, which strongly suggest that there are at least two developmental periods that are sensitive to socioeconomic events with regard to final stature. Environmental disasters during pregnancy and the first year of life lead to a ubiquitous reduction of mean stature in the total cohort affected.