Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-lrblm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-02T04:14:16.071Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A quantitative study into the role of infection in determining nutritional status in Gambian village children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2007

M. G. M. Rowland ,
T. J. Cole  and
R. G. Whitehead
M. G. M. Rowland
Affiliation:
Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, University of Cambridge and Medical Research Council, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XJ, and Medical Research Council Laboratories, Keneba, The Gambia
T. J. Cole
Affiliation:
Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, University of Cambridge and Medical Research Council, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XJ, and Medical Research Council Laboratories, Keneba, The Gambia
R. G. Whitehead
Affiliation:
Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, University of Cambridge and Medical Research Council, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XJ, and Medical Research Council Laboratories, Keneba, The Gambia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. Growth in weight and height in 152 children between the ages of 0.6 and 3 years was investigated in Keneba, a rural Gambian village. By 1 year of age the average weight-for-age of the children was only 75% of the Jelliffe (1966) standard.

2. The relationship between the prevalence of nine different categories of diseases and growth was investigated to determine the quantitative contribution of the diseases to the growth faltering observed. There was a highly significant negative relationship between gastroenteritis and both weight gain and height gain. The only other disease category having a similar relationship was malaria, but in this instance only with weight gain.

3. Although over-all growth in weight and height was considerably below the standard values, multiple regression analysis indicated that after the age of 1 year, except in July and August, normal and sometimes slow ‘catch-up’ growth would be possible in the absence of gastroenteritis.

4. Attention is drawn to the limitations of the use of anthropometry in a settled village community as the only criterion by which dietary adequacy can be judged.

Type
Papers of direct relevance to Clinical and Human Nutrition
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , May 1977 , pp. 441 - 450
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1977

References

REFERENCES

Court, S. D. M. (1963). Medical Care of Children. Oxford and London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Frood, J. D. L., Whitehead, R. G. & Coward, W. A. (1971). Lancet ii, 1047.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jelliffe, D. B. (1966). Wld Hlth Org. Monogr. Ser. No. 53.Google Scholar
Jelliffe, D. B. (1968). Infant Nutrition in the Subtropics and Tropics, and ed., p. 53. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google ScholarPubMed
Lunn, P. G., Whitehead, R. G., Baker, B. A. & Austin, S. (1976). Br. J. Nutr. 36, 537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGregor, I. A., Rahman, A. K., Thompson, B., Billewicz, W. Z. & Thomson, A. M. (1968). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. 62, 341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGregor, I. A., Rahman, A. K., Thomson, A. M., Billewicz, W. Z. & Thompson, B. (1970). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. 64, 48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKenzie, H. I., Lovell, H. G., Standard, K. L. & Miall, W. E. (1967). Millbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 45, 303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martorell, R., Habicht, J. P., Yarbrough, C., Lechtig, A., Klein, R. E. & Western, K. A. (1975). Am. J. dis. Childh. 129, 1296.Google Scholar
Mata, L. J., Jimenez, F., Cordon, M., Rosales, R., Prera, E., Schneider, R. E. & Viteri, F. E. (1972). Am. J. clin. Nutr. 25, 1118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mata, L. J., Urrutia, J. J. & Gordon, J. E. (1967). Trop. geogr. Med. 19, 247.Google Scholar
Morley, D. C. (1962). Am. J. dis. Childh. 103, 230.Google Scholar
Morley, D. C., Bicknell, J. & Woodland, M. (1968). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. 62, 164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphey, E. L. (1966). Ghana med. J. 5, 58.Google Scholar
Poskitt, E. M. E. (1971). Lancet ii, 517.Google Scholar
Poskitt, E. M. E. (1972). Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. 66, 931.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scrimshaw, N. S. (1975). In Protein-Calorie Malnutrition, [Olson, R. E. editor]. New York and London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Scrimshaw, N. S., Taylor, C. E. & Gordon, J. E. (1968). Wld Hlth Org. Monogr. Ser. No. 57.Google Scholar
Seone, N. & Latham, M. C. (1971). J. trop. Pediat. Env. Child Hlth 17, 98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waterlow, J. C. (1972). Br. med. J. iii, 566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waterlow, J. C. (1973). Lancet ii, 87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar