| Month-of-birth effect on further body size in a pig model. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 19162263 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Previous studies unanimously confirmed the existence of a dependence of human body size on the month of birth. The cause of the phenomenon has not been identified yet, although some possible causes were proposed e.g. seasonal changes of climatic and nutritional conditions. This study explored the issue in an animal model of 20,513 pigs. We found that body weights of 6-month-old pigs were the highest for subjects born in February, but for 2-month-old pigs the peak fell in May. Any statistical correlation between the month of birth and later body weight may be induced by (1) a long-term effect of the month of birth on further growth potential (LTE), or by (2) a short-term effect of seasonal factors differentiating the growth rate (STE), so we developed a mathematical method to separate the effects. The analysis proved that (1) the observed correlations resulted only from the STE, with May-June being the months of the highest growth tempo, and that (2) there was no significant LTE. The short-term effect was responsible for differences between patterns of weight for 2- and 6-month-old animals by the month of birth: since a pig monthly gain of weight increases with age, it is favorable for it to be born in February to attain the greatest weight at the age of 6 months, whereas 2-month-old piglets are heaviest when born a month or two before the May/June optimum for growth. The lack of a long-term effect of the month of birth on pigs' weight supports the hypothesis of the cultural character of factor(s) responsible for the relationship between the month of birth and later body size in humans. |
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Authors:
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K Kościński; A Kozłowska-Rajewicz; M T Górecki; M Kamyczek; M Rózycki |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article Date: 2009-01-21 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Homo : internationale Zeitschrift für die vergleichende Forschung am Menschen Volume: 60 ISSN: 1618-1301 ISO Abbreviation: Homo Publication Date: 2009 |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2009-03-16 Completed Date: 2009-06-17 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0374655 Medline TA: Homo Country: Germany |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 159-83 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Human Population Ecology, Institute of Anthropology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-701 Poznań, Poland. koscinski@amu.edu.pl |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Age Factors Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena Animals Animals, Newborn Body Size* Body Weight Climate Female Male Models, Animal Models, Biological Poland Seasons* Sus scrofa / anatomy & histology, growth & development* |
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