Growth status and academic performance in Brazilian school age children: growth retardation impairs mathematical, but not reading and spelling abilities

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria

Gilberto N.o. Brito²  Mercedes De Onis¹ 

[1] ,FIOCRUZ Instituto F e rnandes Figueira Departamento de PediatriaRio de Janeiro RJ

关键词: child growth;    achievement;    academic standing;    mathematical ability;    cognitive development;    neurobehavior;    crescimento;    desempenho acadêmico;    competência em matemática;    desenvolvimento cognitivo;    neurocomportamento;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0004-282X2006000600006

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

AIM: To assess the effect of child growth status on academic achievement and the association between child growth and academic standing. METHOD: The heights of 722 middle-school children were measured using standard procedures and height-for-age z (HAZ) scores were calculated based on an international reference. Academic performance was assessed by an adaptation of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT3) composed of Reading, Arithmetic and Spelling. RESULTS: Children in the group with higher HAZ scores performed better than children in the group with lower HAZ scores only on the Arithmetic subtest. This finding was confirmed by a multiple regression model analysis of the data. In addition, only performance on the Arithmetic subtest was positively associated with HAZ. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that growth retardation impacts specifically on the development of arithmetic (numeracy) skills and are consistent with a three-fold model of life course influences on health including latency, cumulative and pathway effects.

【 授权许可】

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