Secular Trends of Sizes at Birth in Japanese Healthy Infants Born between 1962 and 1988

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  • Oishi Kazuyo
    Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Honda Sumihisa
    Department of Radiation Epidemiology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Takamura Noboru
    Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Kusano Yosuke
    Human Service and Community Development, Nagasaki Wesleyan University
  • Abe Yasuyo
    Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Moji Kazuhiko
    Research Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University
  • Takemoto Tai-ichiro
    Department of Health and Nutrition, Nagasaki International University, Faculty of Health Management
  • Tahara Yasuaki
    Department of School Health and Health Promotion, Faculty of Education, Nagasaki University
  • Aoyagi Kiyoshi
    Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

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Abstract

Body sizes at birth are important clinical indicators widely used for evaluation of prenatal growth. Japan had significant socioeconomic improvement around the 1960s, and these environmental changes may influence physiologically prenatal growth. Furthermore, in Japan, measurements of size at birth for birth certificates are weight and height. Thus, we can refer to annual data on weight and height, but not on head and chest circumference at birth. In this study we measured the weight, height, and head and chest circumference at birth among 6,563 Japanese singleton healthy infants, annually in 1962 and 1988, and examined secular trends of these anthropometric measurements. The boys consistently exceeded the girls in all four variables. Birth weight and height increased significantly from the 1960s to '70s, but did not differ between the '70s and '80s in both boys and girls. Secular trends of head and chest circumference were different from them. In both boys and girls, head and chest circumference increased significantly from the '60s to the '70s, but decreased significantly from the '70s to the '80s. No difference of head circumference during the '60s and '80s was found, but the difference of chest circumference was found. Size at birth was likely to increase from the '60s to '70s in Japan. These findings suggest that the environmental changes such as socioeconomic improvements influence the prenatal growth.

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