Growth as a mirror: Is endocrine disruption challenging Tanner's concept?

Abstract

Background: James Tanner coined the expression ‘Growth as a Mirror’ and summarized in four words the results of more than a century of research on growth. Nineteenth century social reformers saw poor child growth as a reflection of terrible environmental conditions of the working class. Later investigators in anthropology and other fields clarified the connections between poor nutrition, disease, psychosocial stress and poor growth.

Aim: To evaluate the growth as a mirror concept in light of recent studies of endocrine disruption.

Papers and Implications: Pollution is recognized as a prominent component of the modern environment. From studies of many pollutants it is clear that some pollutants depress growth while others speed sexual maturation and increase growth, primarily in weight and fatness. While such unwelcome environmental features do not always suppress growth, growth still mirrors the environment in all its complexity and this relationship is key to understanding growth patterns today. For example, Akwesasne Mohawk adolescents are characterized by high rates of obesity and overweight. Their growth reflects the multiple intersecting influences of psychosocial stress, several pollutant exposures and limited dietary choices.

Conclusion: Although Tanner did not anticipate the myriad influences of pollutants, the growth as a mirror concept continues to have great validity and utility.

Keywords::

• Growth
• endocrine disruption
• sexual maturation
• persistent organic pollutants

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge and thank James Tanner for his invaluable contributions to the study of growth, and the Akwesasne Mohawk community for their many contributions, co-operation and participation in this work.

Declaration of Interest : The authors report no conflicts of interest. This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS-ESO4913; ES10904) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health (grant number 1 P20 MD003373). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities or the National Institutes of Health.