Clinical Assessment of Health and Nutritional Status of Scheduled Caste Preschool Children of Amritsar

Mother's education and nutritional status as correlates of child stunting, wasting, underweight, and overweight in Nigeria: Evidence from 2018 Demographic and Health Survey

Aim: This study examined the nexus between mother's education and nutritional status and their relationships with child stunting, wasting, underweight, and overweight. Methods: The data of 34,193 under-five (U-5) children from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and binary and complementary log-logistic regression models. Results: The prevalence of child stunting, wasting, underweight, and overweight were 36.51%, 6.92%, 21.73%, and 2.05%, respectively. Compared to children born to mothers with at least secondary education, uneducated women's children (odds ratio (OR) = 1.55; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.32-1.82) and those of women with primary education (OR = 1.49; 95% CI = 1.28-1.72) were more likely to be stunted. Similarly, children born to uneducated women (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.24-1.83) were more likely to be underweight than women with at least secondary education. The likelihood of child underweight (OR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.45-2.01) and wasting (rate ratio (RR) = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.47-2.26) were higher among underweight mothers, respectively, than those with normal body mass index (BMI). The likelihood of child stunting (OR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.67-0.84) and underweight (OR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.57-0.77) were lower among obese/overweight mothers compared to those with normal BMI, but their children were more likely to be overweight (RR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.27-2.48). Conclusion: Attainment of higher education by mothers should be promoted to prevent childhood nutritional imbalances, and sensitization on healthy dietary habits and lifestyles should be promoted among women, especially the overweight/obese, to reduce their risk of having overweight children.

The prevalence of under-nutrition among the tribal children in India: a systematic review

Tribal population of India constitutes 8.6% of the total population. They are more susceptible to undernutrition which is recognized as a prevalent health problem mainly because of their uncertainty of food supply, which has serious long term consequences for the child and adversely influences the development of the nation. The assessment of nutritional status is paramount importance because it impels to identify malnutrition which is an aggravation of morbidity and mortality. This review was aimed to find out the overall nutritional status of tribal preschool children. It also seek the major socio-cultural causes which influence the nutritional status from bio-cultural perspectives among the tribal children in India in order to make foundation of new research. In the present review, 41 papers on nutritional status of tribal preschool children published from January 1st 2000 till date, have been identified and included for analysis. To analyze the data, meta-analysis was done using MedCalc software.

The meta-analysis revealed the average rate of prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting among the preschool tribal children of India was 42.96%; 44.82% and 23.69%. Among the 41 different studies these rates vary among the different tribal groups of different states associated with their socio-economic status (10%), their cultures of food consumption (10%), maternal education (15%), child feeding practices (20%), dietary deficit during pregnancy (25%) and poor nutrition of the child (52%).

Prevalence rate of under-nutrition and stunting is relatively high in comparison to WHO in India whereas, rate of wasting was lower in comparison to national level which reflect that immediate nutritional status was poor but chronic deficiency of nutrition was less. Nutritional education and short term appropriately planned nutritional intervention programs may also be useful for enhancing their nutritional status.

Non-metric traits, physiological stress indicators and paleopathological lesion on human skeletal remains from an early modern cemetery in Wyszyński Street, Wrocław, Poland (15th–18th centuries AD)

The anthropological analysis and assessment of the living conditions of historical populations should be comprehensive. Due to the scarcity of the well-preserved skeletal remains of a population buried at the cemetery in Wyszyński Street, Wrocław, each piece of information is particularly important in providing the complementary information about living and health conditions of late medieval and early modern inhabitants of Wrocław. This study aims to assess the living conditions of the late medieval and early modern Wrocław inhabitants. This aim was reached by analyzing the frequency of non-metrical cranial and postcranial traits, physiological stress indicators, and pathological lesions. The importance of these traits for population studies is also discussed. For 98 skeletons (22.4% male and 37.8% female) from a cemetery located in Wyszyński Street, (15th –18th centuries AD), the frequencies (p) of the following traits were analyzed: 38 non-metric cranial and 9 post-cranial traits, the morphological indicators of physiological stress (i.e. cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasia), caries and pathological lesions on bones. Among the non-metric cranial traits, only nine (23.7%) were not observed. The most frequent (from p= 0.30 to p=0.65) were foramen parietale, incisura frontalis accesoria seu foramen frontale accesorius, foramen supraorbitale, M3 mandibulare, ossicula suturae lambdoideae, and foramen mastoideum extrasuturale. Only three non-metric post-cranial traits were observed, but with low frequency (p=0.01 and 0.02). Cribra orbitalia was present in 37.0% of the skeletons while enamel hypoplasia was present in only 2.6%. Susceptibility to caries occurred in 68% of the cases while carries lesions occurred in 31.2%. Among pathological changes, the most frequent were degenerative changes (21.6%) and injuries (19.6%). Owing to the poorly preserved remains, the complete assessment of the living conditions of the population was difficult. The number of the observed traits would have probably increased, had the number of complete and well-preserved skeletons been higher. The results of the study suggest that the living conditions of the studied population were poor. It is hypothesized that the cemetery was a burial place for prisoners and victims of various epidemics that affected the city. But since the historical sources of this cemetery are scarce, it is hard to unequivocally state its purpose with certainty.

Prevalence and determinants of undernutrition and its trends among pre-school tribal children of Maharashtra State, India

A community-based cross-sectional study carried out in tribal areas of Maharashtra covering 1751 pre-school children to assess nutritional status. Nutritional status was assessed using new WHO Growth Standards. Household wealth index was constructed using principle component analysis. The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was 64, 61 and 29%, respectively. There was a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the prevalence of underweight and stunting over two time periods (1999 and 2008). Logistic regression showed that the risk of underweight was 1.7 times higher among children of illiterate mothers and those suffering from morbidities, while stunting was 1.4 times higher among children belonging to lowest and middle household's wealth indexes. Undernutrition is a public health problem and is associated with literacy of mother, household wealth index and morbidities. Therefore, improving socio-economic condition along with literacy of mothers and preventing infections through personal hygiene might help in improving the nutritional status of children.

Nutritional status of Kamar tribal children in Chhattisgarh

OBJECTIVE

Assessment of the nutritional status among 309 Kamar children (161 boys and 148 girls) aged 4-12 years.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 24-hours dietary recall method was used to assess dietary intakes of children. Height and weight were recorded and children were classified by WHO criterion (Z-score) using nutritional indices i.e. weight for age, height for age and weight for height. NCHS data were used as reference. Mean energy and protein intake per day were measured and compared with Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of Indian standards.

RESULTS

More than 90 percent of children (both boys and girls) in the age group of 4-6 years suffered by underweight (<-2 SD weight for age), which was comparatively lower in 7-9 and 10-12 years age group children. 84.51 percent of boys suffered by stunting (<-2 SD height for age), which was much higher than girls (47.54%) in 4-6 years age group. Similarly, 80 percent of 4-6 years age group children were affected by wasting (<-2 SD weight for height). The consumption of energy and protein were also much lower among Kamar children than the RDA of India throughout the ages.

CONCLUSION

Undernutrition in the form of underweight, stunting and wasting and low consumption of dietary intake (energy and protein) was found to be widely prevalent among Kamar tribal children. Therefore, an urgent dietary intervention programme is necessary. Further studies are required to investigate into problem and to supplement the key nutrients which are required to ensure a good nutritional status in children.