Morphological growth of Han boys and girls born and raised near sea level and at high altitude in western China.

This study compares the morphological characteristics of Han children, adolescents, and young adults who were born at 250 m near Beijing and at three high altitudes in Qinghai Province, Peoples Republic of China (3,200 m, 3,800 m, and 4,300 m). From ages 6 through 15, Han children growing up at high altitudes are significantly shorter, lighter, have less fat, and are less muscular than Han children growing up at low altitude. However, older adolescents and young adults show no such altitude differences. Younger adolescents and children in this study were all born after the government economic reforms of 1978. These reforms had a greater impact on the growth of children in and around large cities than on those in more remote areas. Therefore, the altitude differences in size among Han children ages 15 and younger may be a consequence of regional variation in health and nutrition, rather than due to the influence of hypoxia. There are no altitude-related differences in thorax dimensions among Han children, adolescents, or young adults. This suggests that hypoxia does not affect the thorax growth of Han children. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:665-681, 2000. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.