The impact of hygienic living conditions on the differentiation of male body height at the beginning of the twentieth century in the USSR

Abstract

Abstract Background The positive changes in hygienic living conditions are commonly believed to explain secular changes in body height and the age of maturity. However, it is difficult to estimate the separate impacts of these factors due to the lack of social and economic data and variations in the sources of information. We hypothesized that final male body height could be associated with various socioeconomic indicators, such as the development of the medical care system, the quality of nutrition, and the level of sanitary and hygienic conditions. Moreover, we hypothesized that male body height could be associated with the level of morbidity in the region during the time of conscript childhood (from 1 to 7 years old). Materials and methods We used two main sources of information in the analyses. The first is the data from the Statistical Reference Book published by the Central Statistical Committee in 1929. The second is the annual data from the Statistical Reference Book published in the Russian Empire. Since the conscripts were born between 1906 and 1909, we used datasets from 1910 to 1913. To analyze the data, we used a method of analyzing interacting variables called St. Nicolas House Analysis (SNHA). Results Our analyses revealed direct associations between the morbidity of some diseases and male body height and other anthropometric parameters. Conclusions There are associations between conscript final body height and the morbidity of influenza, dysentery and some venereal diseases, such as chancroid and syphilis. There were no associations between conscript final body height and the level of morbidity during childhood. However, other final parameters, such as BMI, weight, and chest circumference, could be associated with the morbidity of malaria, scabies, scurvy, and scarlet fever during childhood. The prevalence of these diseases could be strongly connected with unfavorable living conditions. The results are similar for both urban and rural areas.