Weights and Heights of 22,349 children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 in Iran are reported. Data are from the 1990-1992 National Health Survey, a random cluster sample survey of 1 in 1000 families in all provinces of Iran. Multilevel models (Goldstein 1995) which take account of the survey design, reveal significant differences between provinces and between urban and rural children. Differences between urban and rural children, like differences between girls and boys, persist across all provinces and are certainly real. Differences between provinces may be partly due to differences in calibration. Charts based on the homogeneous subset of children living in urban Tehran may be used for all urban children, and in modified form, for all rural children. All the centiles of these charts are substantially below those of the NCHS charts, but the spread is similar so that there is no suggestion that the difference is due to the prevalence of gross malnutrition. The difference shows that the use of locally based growth charts are essential for assessing the growth of children in Iran.
PIP: This study explored the growth of Iranian children 2-18 years old by using weight and height measurements. Data were obtained from a National Health Survey of families in 1990-92, which covered all provinces of Iran. After excluding discordant measurements, the data set included measurement on 22,349 individuals; 11,159 (49.9%) boys and 11,190 (50.1%) girls. Weights were recorded to the nearest kilogram, and heights to the nearest centimeter. Multilevel models were constructed to investigate regional variations in growth patterns. In the results, the interaction terms of sex with age show that the girls were putting on weight significantly faster than the boys and also growing slightly faster on average. The differences between provinces may be partly due to differences in calibration. Charts based on the homogenous subset of children living in urban Tehran may be used for all urban children and, in modified form, for all rural children. All the centiles of these charts were substantially below those of the National Center for Health Statistics charts, but the spread was similar so that there was no suggestion that the difference was due to the prevalence of gross malnutrition. The difference showed that the use of locally based growth charts was essential for assessing the growth of children in Iran.