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Height

Height (clinical table).
Name in the dataset height
Type clinical
Stored in clinical_data.csv
Unit cm

Measurement space

-505true minus recorded (cm)1. recorded 160 cmdensity-0.0500.05true minus recorded (cm)2. recorded 159.3 cmdensity-0.500.5true minus recorded (cm)3. recorded 176 cmdensity-0.200.2true minus recorded (cm)4. recorded 171.5 cmdensity

Vertical slices through the measurement space: how the true value is spread around a recorded one, for 4 recorded values chosen to show the different cases. Each panel has its own scale. Each is averaged over every record with that value in the release, from the pinned model; groups of fewer than 20 records are not shown.

  1. 160 cm (the commonest recorded value; 79 records): mean -0.0137 cm, SD 1.81 cm, 95% between -4.37 and +4.32. Rounding: tens 40%, measured_0.1 28%, whole_cm 22%.
  2. 159.3 cm (the narrowest; 34 records): mean +1.9e-06 cm, SD 0.0337 cm, 95% between -0.0871 and +0.0414. Rounding: measured_0.1 100%.
  3. 176 cm (unlike the others; 22 records): mean -0.0149 cm, SD 0.195 cm, 95% between -0.469 and +0.413. Rounding: whole_cm 43%, measured_0.1 42%, round_up_from_x9 8%.
  4. 171.5 cm (unlike the others; 24 records): mean -0.000472 cm, SD 0.0615 cm, 95% between -0.183 and +0.132. Rounding: measured_0.1 86%, half_cm 14%.
Joint map of recorded against true value for Height
Joint map: across, the recorded value; up, the true value minus the recorded one. Colour is the share of all probability in the release (6,388 records), on a log scale. Each column is a slice like those above; tall columns are values people round to, narrow ones values written as measured.

Time

This variable carries no time of its own in the dataset.

Value
Model kind model: fitted rounding model (value kind); posterior over the true value
Resolution heaped: a mixture of rounding modes (see the value model)
Status measured
Studies Rounding and heaping of height

In this release

How wide the true-value distribution is, record by record, over 6,388 of 6,388 records (all clinical rows) that have one. Computed with the pinned model, aggregates only.

Median p10 to p90
Standard deviation 0.0289 cm 0.0289 to 0.177 cm
95% interval width 0.095 cm 0.095 to 0.853 cm
Mean minus recorded -3.67e-05 cm -0.00964 to 0.000251 cm

Value model

Model file: …/models/height.model.json. Read from the pinned snapshot of vitaldb-resolution at commit bb03ddfc8a (2026-10-18).

How a true value becomes the recorded one. The rules are tried in order: a record not taken by an earlier rule is taken by this one with the probability shown (where its condition holds); the last rule takes the rest. Shares of all records depend on the conditions and the true value, so the model must be evaluated for them; the probabilities below are the fitted ones.

Order Rule Rounds to Probability if reached Applies when
1 tens 10 cm (nearest) 1.3 % always
2 whole_cm 1 cm (nearest) 6.4 % varies with emop
3 half_cm 0.5 cm (nearest) 3.0 % always
4 round_up_from_x9 1 cm (ceiling) 19.4 % recorded minus true in [0.05, 0.15)
5 measured_0.1 0.1 cm (nearest) the rest always
Recorded resolution 0.1
True-value density normal_regression
Covariates sex, age, emop
Fitted on 6,041 records (clinical_data.csv)
BIC 64,852
Fitted 2026-10-13
  • Rounding model kept at the native 0.1 cm so that the decimal digit can separate measured from written-in heights; diurnal height change is handled by measurement_variability, not by coarsening.
  • Measurement variability (beyond rounding): SD 0.5 cm; for written-in values, SD 2.6 cm (from literature, not fitted).

Sources the model cites:

  • Leatt P, Reilly T, Troup JG. Spinal loading during circuit weight-training and running. Br J Sports Med. 1986;20(3):119-124. doi:10.1136/bjsm.20.3.119
  • Healey EL, Burden AM, McEwan IM, Fowler NE. Diurnal variation in stature: do those with chronic low-back pain differ from asymptomatic controls? Clin Biomech. 2011;26(4):331-336. doi:10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2010.11.017
  • Voss LD, Bailey BJR. Diurnal variation in stature: is stretching the answer? Arch Dis Child. 1997;77(4):319-322. doi:10.1136/adc.77.4.319
  • Ko Y, Choi S, Won J, Lee YK, Kim DH, Lee SK. Differences in accuracy of height, weight, and body mass index between self-reported and measured using the 2018 Korea Community Health Survey data. Epidemiol Health. 2022;44:e2022024. doi:10.4178/epih.e2022024

Studies

Study Date Status Summary
Rounding and heaping of height 2026-10-13 current Recorded height is a mixture of 5 rounding modes (tens, whole_cm, half_cm, round_up_from_x9, measured_0.1); the model gives the true value's distribution for each record.

Figures

Histogram of the recorded values of height.
Recorded values in the release: 6,388 records, median 162.2 cm; 63 outside the 0.5–99.5th percentiles are not shown.

Tags: generated, vitaldb-resolution