An analysis of deviations from international standards of physique development in male youngsters from the former aral sea region

Introduction. According to the commonly accepted classification, geographical division of the Southern Near-Aral region (Karakalpakstan, Republic of Uzbekistan) is determined by the distance from the epicenter of the formal Aral Sea ecological disaster. The physique development was compared in male youngsters living in “Zone No. 1” (critical), “Zone No. 2” (stable) and “Zone No. 3” (normal). The aim was a comparison of body length and mass in male youngsters up to 17 years old living in all three zones. Material and methods. Total body length and mass were studied in 320 male volunteers, age 17–19. Z-index of body length and body mass index (BMI) were estimated according to the standards of WHO Growth Reference, 2007. Batch-to-batch variations were studied with Kruskal–Wallis test, and Mann–Whitney criterion including Bonferroni correction for multiple comparison. Categorical features were compared using Fisher’s exact test for 3×3 contingency tables with calculating the proportion of children with one or another deviation in body weight. The results were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05. Results. Subjects from Zone 1 possessed significantly lower valued of BMI and Z-index. The incidence of Z-index values lower than mean (less –1 SD) were significantly higher in Zone 1 (critical). Conclusion. The results may be explained by via chemical pollution of the environment by the endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the critical zone of the Aral See region ecological disaster and can be implied for the health monitoring of the local population.