ESTIMATES OF AGING AND SECULAR CHANGES USING TOTAL ARM LENGTH

Stature, total arm length, and subischial length were studied in a cro ss-sectional sample of 387 working (career women) and 460 nonworking w omen (housewives), 20-75 years of age, from one endogamous group, the Khatris. Statural decrease due to aging was separated from secular eff ects by using total arm length, which was least affected by aging. The rate of loss in stature due to aging was 0.142 cm/year in the working women and 0.140 cm/year in the nonworking women. Both estimates are s ignificantly different from zero. After adjusting stature for estimate d aging effects, the resulting secular estimates were 0.004 cm/year in working women and 0.01 cm/year for nonworking women, both of which do not significantly differ from zero. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.