Nutritional status and growth of indigenous Xavante children, Central Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to characterize the nutritional status of Xavante Indian children less than 10 years of age in Central Brazil and to evaluate the hypothesis of an association between child nutrition and socioeconomic differentiation in this population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2006 that included all children under the age of 10 from the Xavante village Pimentel Barbosa in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The data collected included weight, height, and sociodemographic information. Sociodemographic data were used to generate two indices ("income" and "wealth") and to determine the proportion of adults in each household. Descriptive analyses were performed for weight-for-age (W/A), height-for-age (H/A), and weight-for-height (W/H) using the NCHS and the WHO growth references. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using H/A and W/A as a response variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of a total of 246 children under the age of ten residing in the village, 232 (94.3%) were evaluated. Following the NCHS reference, 5.6% of children under the age of ten presented low W/A and 14.7% presented low H/A. Among children under the age of five, deficit percentages for weight and height were 4.5% and 29.9%, respectively, following the WHO curves. Among children < 2 years of age, H/A index variability was found to be directly related to child's age and inversely related to the proportion of adults in the household. Maternal BMI was positively associated with growth for children from 2 to 4 years of age, explaining 11.5% of the z-score variability for the H/A index. For children 5 years of age and older, the wealth index and maternal height were positively associated with H/A. No significant associations were found using W/A as the dependent variable.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrated that undernutrition, in particular linear growth deficit, is a notable health issue for Xavante children. These findings contrast with the nutritional profile observed among Brazilian children nationally, which is characterized by a sharp decline in child undernutrition in recent decades, even in the poorest regions of the country. This discrepancy calls attention to the persistent health disparities that exist between indigenous and non-indigenous people in Brazil.</p

Associação entre estado nutricional, aleitamento materno exclusivo e tempo de internação hospitalar de crianças

Objetivo: Verificar a associação entre estado nutricional, aleitamento materno exclusivo e tempo de internação hospitalar de crianças.Método: Estudo transversal. Amostra por conveniência, com 146 crianças de 1-48 meses e seus responsáveis. Dados coletados em unidades pediátricas de um hospital do sul do Brasil, entre janeiro e agosto de 2012. Para análise, utilizaram-se os coeficientes de correlação de Pearson e de Spearman.Resultados: As crianças foram classificadas em: eutróficas (71,9%), risco para sobrepeso (13,0%); obesidade (6,2%); magreza (4,1%); sobrepeso (2,7%) e magreza acentuada (2,1%). O aleitamento materno exclusivo demonstrou ser um fator de proteção contra a magreza acentuada (P=0,029); estar sendo amamentado (P=0,024) ou ter sido amamentado (P=0,000) foram identificados como fatores de proteção contra sobrepeso, risco para sobrepeso e obesidade. O tempo de internação hospitalar foi maior para sobrepeso/obesidade e menor para magreza acentuada/magreza (P=0,785).Conclusão: Inadequado estado nutricional e desmame precoce não foram fatores de risco para o maior tempo de internação nesta amostra.Palavras-chave: Estado nutricional. Desmame. Tempo de internação. Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio