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Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on January 16, 2007
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kql155
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Does child labour affect final height?

Solange Aparecida Estevão Cortez1, Marco Antonio Barbieri1, Maria da Conceição Pereira Saraiva2, Heloisa Bettiol1, Antônio Augusto Moura da Silva3 and Viviane Cunha Cardoso1

1 Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
2 Department of Paediatrics and Social Dentistry, School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
3 Department of Public Health, Federal University of Maranhão, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil

Background Although the negative effects of child labour on health are well known, the impact of child labour on final height is still controversial.

Aims To assess the effect of child labour on the final height of young adults.

Methods The study included 2063 adults aged 23–25 years from a cohort study of all live births (6827) in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (1978–79). Height was measured in centimetres. Information on work, physical activity and smoking was obtained retrospectively and the other variables were obtained at cohort baseline. Work was classified according to age at first job: <14 (child labour), 14–16 and ≥17 years. Analyses were performed separately for males and females. Multiple linear regression analysis followed bivariate and stratified analysis.

Results The average height for males and females were respectively 176.0 cm [95% confidence interval (CI) 175.6–176.4] and 162.7 cm (95% CI 162.3–163.0). Labour before the age of 14 years was performed by 20% of males and 12% of females. In the bivariate analysis, child labour was statistically associated with final height for both males (P < 0.01) and females (P < 0.01). However, the association was not maintained after adjusting for confounders.

Conclusion We were not able to demonstrate significant height differences between those previously employed or not employed as a child, other than differences explained by other social and biological factors.

Keywords      Child labour; cohort study; height; human growth

Correspondence to: Maria da Conceição Pereira Saraiva, Department of Pediatrics and Social Dentisttry, School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av do Café s/n, 14040-904, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Tel: +55 16 3602 3995; fax: +55 16 3602 2700; e-mail: mdsaraiv{at}umich.edu


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