Information on Longitudinal Studies Conducted by the Department of Anthropology, University School of Physical Culture in Krakow, Poland

A team of employees from the Department of Anthropology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University School of Physical Education in Krakow has been conducting longitudinal studies of children, adolescents and adults called the Krakow Longitudinal Growth Study for a number of years. The study began in 1970 and assessed somatic development and physical fitness. The first series of annual surveys was conducted between 1976 and 1988 and included girls and boys aged 6 to 18 years. The study started with 485 boys and 455 girls, and by the age of 18, data were collected for 180 boys and 143 girls. In the second series of annual surveys starting in 1980 the initial number of respondents at age 8 was 460 boys and 360 girls , and at age 19 there were178 boys and 108 girls surveyed in 1990. The survey was conducted in primary and secondary schools.

Then, in 2022, from these two combined series, data were collected for 103 women and 122 men aged 32-34 years. A repeat survey after 18 years was conducted in 2022 with data for 47 women and 67 men aged 50-52 years. Individuals were invited to the Department of Anthropology. Despite repeated invitations by post, email or telephone /we have an address database of these individuals/, the number of people surveyed is reduced, which is inevitable in this type of research. All surveys were carried out with the informed consent of the participants. The 2022 study was also approved by the Bioethics Committee at the Regional Medical Chamber in Kraków (consent no. 65/KBL/OIL of 11 April 2022). All procedures comprising the study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional human experimentation committees and the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, revised in 2008.

The following measurements were performed:

• Physical Fitness Tests

Handgrip strength of left and right hand, standing broad jump, sit-and-reach test and overhead medicine ball throw (2 kg) - for adults only. Anthropometric Measurements

• Body height – measured according to Martin’s technique using an anthropometer (GPM, Switzerland, accuracy of 1 mm);
• Body weight and tissue composition - assessed using a body composition analyser, Tanita TBF-300 (Japan), with an accuracy of 0.01 kg for body weight and 0.1% for adiposity;
• Circumferences of the chest (relaxed and in deep inspiration), waist, hips, thigh, mid-upper-arm (MUAC), forearm and calf – measured with a non-stretchable anthropometric tape;
• Thickness of biceps, triceps, subscapular, abdominal, suprailiac and calf skinfolds measured with a caliper (Harpenden type with constant pressure 10g/mm2 , accuracy of 1 mm);
• Width of shoulders and hips, depth and width of the chest – measured with a large spreading calliper (GPM, Switzerland accuracy of 1mm);
• The width of the elbow and knee is measured with a small spreading calliper (GPM, Switzerland, accuracy of 1mm).

Information was also collected on the age of the girls' first mentoring and, using a survey questionnaire, data on the socio-economic situation of the families of the students surveyed. In the 2004 study, a survey questionnaire asked respondents about the place of sport and recreational activities among their favorite leisure time activities, the types of sport and recreational activities practiced and their intensity (weekly number of hours devoted to these activities) and the expressed needs for physical activity. On the other hand, the declared physical activity of women and men was determined on the basis of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - short version in 2022. Daily intensive and moderate physical activity were included. Women aged 50-52 years were asked whether they currently had menstrual cycles and, if not, when menopause occurred.

This research has formed the basis for many publications, with recent papers including “Reliability of retrospective assessment of the age of first menstruation”, “Age at puberty and the risk of developing cardiometabolic complications among 50-52-year-old men from Krakow Longitudinal Study (Poland)” in Anthropological Review or “Changes in physical fitness and body build of women and men surveyed in 2004 and 2022 - a longitudinal study” in the American Journal of Human Biology.

Continuous surveys of children, adolescents and adults of this type and duration are few in the world. And continuous studies can be useful for, among other things:

- Assessing the influence of genetic and environmental factors on growth and development

- Building models for predicting adult body height in boys and girls

- Analysis individual growth lines and assessing the influence of modifying factors

- Determining the magnitude of sexual dimorphism at different developmental periods.