Abstract
The possible existence of a relationship between growth and intellectual development has long fascinated investigators. We recently reported a significant association between height (normalized for age and sex, NH) and IQ scores (both WISC, a measure of intellectual development, and WRAT, a measure of academic achievement) in 6768 adolescents (age 12-17 yr) studied in Cycle III (1966-1970) of the National Health Examination Survey (NHES). In this study, we analyze the association between NH and IQ scores among 7119 children, aged 6-11 yr, from Cycle II (1963-1965) of the NHES. We also examine the association between changes in NH and changes in IQ scores in a longitudinal group of 2117 subjects (aged 8-11 yr) studied first in Cycle II and 2-5 yr later in Cycle III. In Cycle II, as in Cycle III, we found a modest but highly significant correlation between NH and IQ scores (r=0.18, WISC; 0.17, WRAT; p<0.0001). However, within the longitudinal group, there was no correlation between changes in NH and changes in IQ scores (p>0.15). Grouping the subjects by sex, SES, or NH in Cycle II did not alter these results. Although we have shown a significant correlation between NH and IQ scores in both Cycles II and III, the data from the longitudinal group revealed no association between changes in NH and changes in IQ scores. These data imply that the factors contributing to the association between NH and IQ scores are active in early childhood and are complete by age 8 yr, suggesting that therapies to increase height are unlikely to affect IQ scores in normal children.
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Wilson, D., Ritter, P., Dornbusch, S. et al. 67 INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT USD PHYSICAL GROWTH. Pediatr Res 19, 122 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00097
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00097