Influence of maternal nutritional status on prenatal growth in a Peruvian urban population

Anthropometric measurements were made on 4,952 mothers and their neonates from a Peruvian urban population. Based on age-specific percentiles, the mothers were separated into categories of short and tall stature, high and low fat, and high and low muscle. The study indicates that: (1) tall and short mothers characterized by similar subcutaneous fat and upper arm muscle area (whether high or low) had newborns with similar birth weight and recumbent length; (2) mothers characterized by high subcutaneous fat had heavier and fatter, but not longer, newborns than mothers with low subcutaneous fat; (3) mothers characterized by high upper arm muscle area had heavier, leaner and longer newborns than mothers with low upper arm muscle area; (4) mothers characterized by high muscle and high fat had heavier and longer newborns than mothers with high muscle and low fat; but (5) mothers characterized by high muscle and low fat had heavier and longer newborns than mothers with low muscle and high fat. Considering that subcutaneous fat and arm muscle area reflect calorie and protein reserves respectively, it is concluded that an increase in maternal calorie reserves results in increased infant fatness, but a lesser increase in linear growth. In contrast, an increase in maternal protein reserves does enhance both birth weight and prenatal linear growth.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37573/1/1330460207_ftp.pd

Greater Contribution to Secular Trend among Offspring of Short Parents

The relationship of differences in parental stature to offspring increase in height has been studied in a sample of 5,067 parent-offspring pairs derived from the U.S. Ten-State Nutritional Survey of 1968-1970. The results indicate that: (1) the secular trend towards greater stature is evident only in the offspring of short parents, while the offspring of tall parents show no increase in stature; (2) the percent increase in height among populations characterized by short stature, such as the Japanese and U.S. Italian-born, is greater than among tall populations

Symbiotic Relationship of High Fertility, High Childhood Mortality and Socio-Economic Status in an Urban Peruvian Population

The reproductive, biological and socio-economic characteristics of a sample of 4,952 subjects derived from a Peruvian population of low and medium socio-economic status were studied. The study suggests that under conditions of poverty there exists a symbiotic relationship whereby low socio-economic status is associated with a less efficient mechanism to control family size. This characteristic permits the mother of low socio-economic status to attain a more complete child-bearing period. As child­hood mortality is inversely related to socio-economic status, so, with an increase in childhood deaths there is an increase in live births in a compensatory fashion. High fertility is the net result of these interactions. The implications of these findings to attempts to decrease population fertility through birth control alone are discussed

Digital and Palmar Dermatoglyphic Patterns in Two Peruvian Quechua Populations

Digital and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns are analyzed and compared for 335 subjects from a Peruvian, central highland Quechua-speaking population and .343 subjects from an eastern Peruvian lowland Quechua-speaking population, all of whose ages range from 5 to 19 years. These two populations are probably descendants of the former Chanca tribes of the Peruvian Andes, and display no significant genetic differences in terms of ABO and Rh subgroups. Sex and hand-specific digital patterns, pattern intensity indices, maximum atd angles, C and D main lines, Cummins main line index, hypothenar patterns, thenar/I patterns and interdigital area II, III and IV patterns are compared. Lowland males and females have greater frequencies of whorls and fewer loops and arches in their first and fifth digits than their highland counterparts. Lowland males and females also have fewer proximal and ulnar endings and more radial endings in their C line terminations than the highland males and females. The right interdigital area III of lowland females shows a greater frequency of overall patterns (vestiges, loops and whorls) than that of the highland females

Pattern of Growth of Lowland and Highland Peruvian Quechua of Similar Genetic Composition

The pattern of growth and body composition of 271 lowland Quechua children from the village of Pamashto (altitude 980 meters) of the province of Lamas was studied in comparison with that of 313 highland Quechua children from the village of Ondores of the province of Junin (altitude 4150 m). The analysis indicates that, despite the fact that the lowland adults are taller than their highland counterparts, the growth of the lowland children is markedly delayed when compared with that of the highland children. In view of the fact that these samples are genetically very similar, the observed growth differences are probably due to differences in socio-economic and/or other environmental conditions. Measurements of skinfold thickness and estimates of upper arm muscle indicate that lowland children have a lower calorie and protein reserve than those of the highlands. These variations are probably related to various recent negative changes in the ecology and socio-economic condition of lowland populations as well as to climatic factors

Taste Sensitivity to Phenylthiourea (PTC), Tongue Rolling, and Hand Clasping Among Peruvian and Other Native American Populations

The ability to taste phenylthiourea (PTC) was tested among 1021 Quechua-speaking subjects from the Central Highlands and Eastern Low­lands, and 864 Mestizo subjects from the Eastern Lowlands of Peru. In addition, 1137 Quechuas and 873 Mestizos were tested for the frequency of tongue rolling and right hand/left hand clasping. Among the lowland Quechua Indians and lowland Mestizos the frequency of non-tasters equals approximately 6.8% for both groups, while for the highland group it equals 3%; it is suggested that the similarity in non-taster frequency between the lowland Quechuas and Mestizos may reflect the common environment. The frequency of tongue rolling is greater for the Mestizos (65%) than for the Quechuas (53%). The frequency of right hand clasping does not show any differences between the three populations