A GAUSS program for computing the Foulkes-Davis tracking index for polynomial growth curves

Abstract

We have previously published a GAUSS program for computing the Foulkes-Davis tracking index, [gamma], from a one-sample longitudinal data set when no assumptions were made concerning the structure of the individual growth curves (Schneiderman et al., Am J Hum Biol, 4 (1992) 417-420). In this paper we consider the computation of the Foulkes-Davis index assuming that each individual growth curve may be adequately represented by a polynomial function in time and a GAUSS program performing these computations is made available. As with the two other tracking indices we have described, [gamma] and [kappa] (Schneiderman et al., Am J Hum Biol, 2 (1990) 475-490), this one can be used to evaluate regularity in patterns of growth or adaptation. An example is presented where statural growth in the same three groups considered in the earlier papers are analyzed. The small disparities between these and the earlier results are discussed in view of the different assumptions of the models and the differences in how they operationalize the concept of tracking.