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This was true even though the children were born into an “ideal family environment” defined as having good health coverage, higher living conditions and highly educated mothers, according to the study, which meant that stunted growth was. unlikely to be due to common risk factors such as diet and illness.
According to the study, children living in ideal home environments grew at rates deemed standard by the World Health Organization until they lived about 500 meters (1,650 feet) above the level of. the sea. At this altitude and above, children’s height-for-age scores began to decline.
Previous research has shown that shorter, slower growth at higher altitudes can lead to an increased risk of cognitive deficits and metabolic development disorders linked to chronic diseases later in life.
A global study
The study examined height-for-age data from more than 950,000 children in 59 countries.
“More than 800 million people live at an altitude of 1,500 meters or more, two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia,” said study co-author Kalle Hirvonen, senior researcher at International Food Policy Research. Institute, in a press release.
However, there are a number of cities in the United States that drop above 5,000 feet, including Butte, Montana; Cheyenne, Jackson and Laramie, Wyoming; Flagstaff, Arizona; Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Mammoth Lake, Big Bear Lake and South Lake Tahoe in California; and about 37 cities in Colorado, among others.
In fact, Aspen, Breckenridge and Telluride in Colorado and Santa Fe in New Mexico are all above 7,000 feet above sea level.
Highest risk pregnancy
The study found that most of the risks were in the period before and immediately after birth and could be due to lower oxygen levels at higher altitudes.
“High altitude pregnancies are characterized by chronic hypoxia, or insufficient oxygen supply, which is consistently associated with a higher risk of fetal growth retardation,” Hirvonen said.
It was thought that genetic adaptation to high-altitude residence over several generations could alleviate stunting, but the study did not show this, Hirvonen said.
“After birth, the growth curve of children living in areas 1,500 meters or more above sea level was consistently lower, implying limited catching up in growth levels of children residing in areas less than 1,500 meters above sea level, “according to the study found.
The results should educate healthcare professionals to work more closely with pregnant women to control the effects of high altitude on the fetus, the study’s authors said.
“A first step is to unravel the complex relationship between altitude, hypoxia, and fetal growth to identify effective interventions,” said study co-author Kaleab Baye, director of the Center for Food Science and nutrition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“If children living at high altitudes are, on average, more stunted than their peers at sea level, then a greater effort to combat stunting at high altitudes is needed,” Hirvonen said.
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