The role of parental age, family dynamics, and historical adversity in craniofacial variation of pre-World War II cadets

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study examined how parental age, family context, and historical stressors relate to variation in craniofacial and body dimensions among male cadets from pre-World War II Lviv. Materialand Methods The sample included 365 male cadets measured in Lviv in 1938. Using Spearman correlations, Mann- Whitney U tests, and Generalized Additive Models with covariate adjustment, we tested whether parental age differences, socioeconomic factors, early-life stress, and family mortality predicted variation in fifteen anthropometric dimensions. Results Parental ages were strongly correlated, consistent with age-assortative mating. Larger parental age differences were associated with smaller jaw width, shorter head length, and variation in craniofacial shape, whereas advancing paternal age was associated with smaller jaw width and variation in overall craniofacial size. Maternal age showed only weak, non-significant trends. Higher parental occupational status predicted greater body height and weight. Variation in body height, nasal height, and overall craniofacial size was also related to sibling mortality. Cohorts corresponding to the periods of World War I and the Spanish flu exhibited smaller jaw width and lower body mass. Despite substantial parental mortality, no significant anthropometric differences were observed between individuals with known and unknown parental-age data. Conclusions Associations between parental age variables and offspring anthropometry were generally weak and limited to specific craniofacial traits. Future research using larger and more diverse samples is needed to determine whether the observed patterns reflect general biological processes or are specific to this cohort.