Growth studies in Jena, Germany: Changes in thoracic measurements between 1975 and 1995

This article presents the changes in three measurements of the thorax (ches t depth, breadth, circumference) and in the chest index (chest depth / ches t breadth) in 7-14-year-old school children from Jena between 1975 and 1995 . Apart from the description of observed secular trends in body size (thora x measures) and form (index) of the thorax, age- and sex-specific differenc es are described. Boys have, on average, higher values of chest depth and c hest breadth. Up to the age of 10, boys have a larger chest circumference a t first, afterwards this is true for girls. The thoracic measurements incre ase under the influence of the secular trend. Since the individual measurem ents do not change in the same way, the trends suggest changes in proportio ns. Both sexes show similar secular trends, but the secular changes do not occur continuously, only intermittently. The results show that such intermi ttent changes occurred between 1985 and 1995. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.