Normal growth, altered growth? Study of the relationship between harris lines and bone form within a post‐medieval plague cemetery (Dendermonde, Belgium, 16th Century)

Boucherie, Alexandra; Castex, Dominique; Polet, Caroline; Kacki, Sacha

doi:10.1002/ajhb.22885

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Harris lines may be linked to stress episodes or alterations between the phases of growth acceleration and stasis. 26,27 But growth stunting represents a longer-term health issue. 62,63 Similar to growth in height, VNC growth reflects incremental apposition of bony tissue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We found no association between reduced VNC size and Harris lines. Harris lines may be linked to stress episodes or alterations between the phases of growth acceleration and stasis 26,27. But growth stunting represents a longer-term health issue 62,63.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Harris lines are radiographically visible transverse lines in long bones that indicate temporary growth arrest. They are noted in stillborn and newborn infants and children with pneumonia, nutrient deficiency, and other illnesses23–25 but may represent normal growth and development 26,27. Bone mineral density (BMD) indicates overall health28,29 but is not a commonly used stress indicator.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Perinatal Disorders and Small Birthweight Are Significantly Associated With Small Vertebral Neural Canal Size in a Contemporary Pediatric Autopsy Sample

O’Donnell

Corron

Hill

2023

Spine

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Study design. A retrospective, nonblinded, single-center observational study.Objective. The purpose of this study is to examine associations between small vertebral neural canal (VNC) measurements with verified experiences of early-life stress (ELS) (premature birth, disorders or conditions arising in the perinatal period, and congenital disorders) in a pediatric autopsy sample, paired with other skeletal indicators of stress, and known demographic/health information. Summary of Background Data. Most studies linking small VNC size to ELS are for human remains from archeological sites without known demographic information or health history, making it difficult to assess what kind of stress might affect VNC growth. Methods. This is a single-center retrospective study in a pediatric autopsy sample of 623 individuals (aged 0.5 to 20.9 yr) with known sex, age, and manner of death (MOD), who died between 2011 and 2019. Data were collected from postmortem computed tomography scans, autopsy, and field investigator reports. Data include VNC anteroposterior and transverse (TR) diameters of the 12th thoracic (T12) and fifth lumbar (L5) vertebrae, bone mineral density, and Harris lines.Results. Small birthweight males have significantly smaller VNC than those with an average birthweight. The natural MOD is associated with smaller VNC. Perinatal disorders and growth stunting are associated with smaller T12 anteroposterior, T12-TR, and L5-TR diameters. Congenital disorders and Harris lines are not associated with small VNC. Conclusions. Reduced VNC size is a reliable indicator of severe ELS, but not all ELS leads to reduced VNC. Females appear less susceptible to perinatal environmental stress than males. Reduced VNC may also be indicative of heightened risk of disease and death in those who died of natural MOD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perinatal Disorders and Small Birthweight Are Significantly Associated With Small Vertebral Neural Canal Size in a Contemporary Pediatric Autopsy Sample

O’Donnell

Corron

Hill

2023

Spine

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“…However, in the last few years, authors have been focusing on the presence and number of HLs rather than the age at their formation. According to publications indexed in the Google Scholar database, there was only one study using the Byers method published in the last 5 years (Krenz-Niedbała 2014) and, similarly, there was only one using the Hummert and van Gerven method (Boucherie et al 2017).…”

Section: Summary Perspectives and Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Calculation of the age of HL formation enables more comprehensive statistical approach. It can be concluded, which period of childhood or puberty in the study population was most abundant in adverse effects (Zítková et al 2004;Krenz-Niedbała 2014;Boucherie et al 2017)-and compared between specific groups (Jerszyńska and Nowak 1996). It is additional easily obtainable data that could improve the description of life of archeological populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to calculate the age at formation of Harris lines? A step-by-step review of current methods and a proposal for modifications to Byers’ formulas

Kulus

Dąbrowski

2019

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Harris lines (HL; also known as Bgrowth arrest lines^or Btransverse radiopaque lines^) are horizontal sclerotic lines formed in the metaphyseal or diaphyseal part of long bones, usually visualized using X-ray images. Among the factors that may lead to a temporary arrest of bone growth (and thus-to HL deposition), the most commonly mentioned are nutritional disorders (malnutrition, protein, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies), a history of smallpox, pneumonia or other diseases, food poisoning, or alcohol abuse. The position of the HL is related to the period of incidence of physiological stress inhibiting bone growth, which enables the estimation of the age at which the subject was exposed to it. Such information can be valuable in the study on archeological populations; therefore, various methods have been developed to determine the age of HL deposition. In this review, six known methods for calculating the age of HL origin are presented and compared: Allison/McHenry, Hunt and Hatch, Clarke, Hummert and van Gerven, and Maat and Byers' methods. In addition, the authors propose here a modification to the last method in order to enable calculations on non-adult bones.

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Investigating femoral growth disruption in subadults from the 10th–13th century St. Étienne cemetery of Toulouse, France

Welsh,

Brickley

2024

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesThe skeleton embodies an individual's environment and lived experiences. Studying childhood growth disruption can, therefore, aid in understanding the experiences of children in the past. This study evaluates growth disruption in a medieval Toulousian subadult sample to explore factors that may have influenced childhood growth and mortality at this site and to assess the utility of Harris line (HL) interpretations in bioarchaeology.Materials and MethodsFemoral growth disruption was assessed in n = 71 subadults (0.125–12.42 years) from the 10th–13th century St. Étienne cemetery of Toulouse, France, using femoral length, total area, cortical area, and relative cortical area. Femoral radiographs were assessed for HLs. To determine the prevalence of growth disruption, z‐scores were calculated using data from the Denver growth study.ResultsThe majority of subadults in this sample suffered from femoral growth disruption. Young children (1.0–3.99 years) were the most affected, with >65% experiencing reduced appositional growth and linear growth stunting at time‐of‐death. Additionally, while many individuals presented with observable HLs, linear and appositional growth did not significantly differ between individuals with and without HLs.DiscussionMaternal malnutrition and inadequate complementary feeding practices likely contributed to the high prevalence of growth disruption among the youngest individuals in the study. The older children and adolescents buried at St. Étienne experienced an amelioration in growth deficits, indicating an improvement in nutrition and/or disease load. The results of this study suggest that more consideration is required when interpreting the presence/absence of HLs, and that studies assessing HLs may benefit from using a more individualistic approach.

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Normal growth, altered growth? Study of the relationship between harris lines and bone form within a post‐medieval plague cemetery (Dendermonde, Belgium, 16th Century)

Cited by 8 publications

References 62 publications

Perinatal Disorders and Small Birthweight Are Significantly Associated With Small Vertebral Neural Canal Size in a Contemporary Pediatric Autopsy Sample

Perinatal Disorders and Small Birthweight Are Significantly Associated With Small Vertebral Neural Canal Size in a Contemporary Pediatric Autopsy Sample

How to calculate the age at formation of Harris lines? A step-by-step review of current methods and a proposal for modifications to Byers’ formulas

Investigating femoral growth disruption in subadults from the 10th–13th century St. Étienne cemetery of Toulouse, France

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