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Maternal reports of child illness and the biochemical status of the child: the use of morbidity interviews in rural Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

E. K. Rousham ,
C. A. Northrop-Clewes  and
P. G. Lunn
E. K. Rousham*
Affiliation:
Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
C. A. Northrop-Clewes
Affiliation:
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster at Coleraine, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UK
P. G. Lunn
Affiliation:
MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XJ, UK
*
*Corresponding author:Dr Emily Rousham, fax +44 (0)1509 223940, email [email protected]
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Abstract

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In a longitudinal study of child growth and nutritional status in Bangladesh, child morbidity was recorded using health interviews with the mother. The aim of the present study was to establish whether maternal reports of child illness were associated with the biochemical health status of the child. Children aged 2–5 years (n 117) took part in the study and their mothers were interviewed every fortnight by Bangladeshi fieldworkers. Maternal reports of diarrhoea were associated with significantly lower plasma albumin concentrations (P < 0·001), poorer intestinal permeability (P < 0·001), higher plasma immunoglobulin A levels (P < 0·005) and higher α-1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) levels (P < 0·05) compared with children reported to be healthy. Children with fever had significantly higher ACT (P < 0·001) and lower albumin (P < 0·05) levels compared with their healthy counterparts. Respiratory infections (RI) were not associated with any significant changes; however, reports of RI with fever were associated with significantly higher levels of ACT than either illness individually (interaction P < 0·05). These highly significant associations between maternal reports of illness and biochemical profiles of child health support the use of health interviews in developing countries.

Keywords

Morbidity interviewsChildhoodNutritional status
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 80 , Issue 5 , November 1998 , pp. 451 - 456
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1998

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