Suchergebnisse

A semi-longitudinal study of factors influencing child growth in a rural community in Jamaica provided an opportunity to explore the relationships between diarrhoea, respiratory infections and body weight.Respiratory infections and diarrhoea both reached peak incidences between the ages of 6 and 24 months when children are at highest risk of malnutrition. Respiratory infections had no demonstrable influence on growth. Diarrhoea was more common in boys than in girls and more common in underweight children. It had no influence on long-term weight increases, though it did have the expected influence on short-term increments.The findings suggested that much of the diarrhoea seen in this community of children may have been secondary to undernutrition rather than a cause of it.

AbstractThe relationship between altitude of residence and child linear growth is studied using data for 630,499 children below age 5 years born between 1992 and 2016, as recorded in 47 countries at elevations ranging from − 377 to 4498 m above sea level. Regressions are used to measure the role of household, community, and environmental factors in explaining an observed altitude effect on linear growth. Controlling for birth year and country effects, and a range of factors correlated with altitude and associated with nutrition outcomes, for each 1000 m gain in elevation, height for age z score (HAZ) declines by 0.195 points on average. Country-specific estimates of the association vary and include positive associations. Results highlight the potential links between developmental risks for children and features of their physical environment.

Abstract Using data from a national survey in Bolivia and from a regional sample of poor communities in two regions of Bolivia, we model the effects of community conditions, household characteristics, and social relations on child health as measured by child mortality and stunted growth. Based on national data, children in rural areas are twice as likely to die before the age of two than are children in large cities, and about one‐third of the children in rural areas are stunted. Including measures of community, household, and maternal characteristics accounts for at least two‐thirds of the urban/rural difference in child health. We conclude that expansion of health services, improvements in household and community sanitation, and socioeco‐nomic development are all needed to overcome the rural disadvantage in child health.