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Biomedical subjects

I de Andraca

Publications and source records attributed to I de Andraca.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

[Risk factors for psychomotor development among infants born under optimal biological conditions].

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of risk factors on infant development, among low socioeconomic children born under optimal biological conditions, and who are exposed to adverse social circumstances. METHOD: Infants of both sexes, in the amount of 788, were studied and controlled prospectively at between 6 and 12 months. Their mental (MDI) and psychomotor (PDI) development was evaluated using the Bayley Scale of Infant Development. Eighteen risk factors were identified and dichotomized (high or low risk). RESULTS: Breast feeding, child temperament, maternal intelligence and home stimulation are consistently associated with lower MDI and PDI. After adjustment for co-variables, home stimulation persisted as a significant factor for explaining the variation of both developmental indexes and child sex also appears as a risk factor for motor skills development. The accumulated effect of 7 or more risk factors is associated with a significant decrease of development scores. The combination of risk categories of child temperament, maternal IQ, paternal role and home stimulation shows higher prediction power for infant development than other combinations analyzed in this study. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest than even for children born under optimal biological conditions their psychomotor development is negatively affected by the presence of simultaneous adverse environmental conditions.

Child Development↗
PubMed1993

[Intelligence evaluation with short forms of WAIS for populations of low socioeconomic status].

A WAIS-S short form for the assessment of intelligence as a confounding variable is proposed. A number of 161 complete WAIS-S protocols, relating to women of lower-middle and low socioeconomic status were analysed. Six subtests (Social Comprehension, Similarities, Vocabulary, Block Design, Picture Completion and Object Assembly) were chosen using two criteria: specific functions evaluated by each subtest and correlation coefficients relating IQ to the subtests. Five WAIS-S short forms were evaluated: one consisting of six subtests and the others with different combinations of four of them. Data showed that they were all appropriate for the measurement of intelligence as a confounding variable; the correlation coefficients between short forms and total IQ ranged from 0.90 to 0.94. The standard errors of the short forms for the estimation of total IQ were of 3 or 4 points, and 3 to 7% of the subjects were wrongly classified. When maternal intelligence had to be measured in relation to infant development the short form that included Social Comprehension, Similarities, Block Design and Picture Completion seemed the most appropriate. Nevertheless when choosing a WAIS-S short form not only economy of time but also the specific relevant functions assessed in each subtest must be considered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Breakfast omission and cognitive performance of normal, wasted and stunted schoolchildren.

This study focuses on the effects of breakfast omission on cognitive performance. We studied 279 children from low socioeconomic level background ranging in age from 8 years 7 months to 10 years 11 months, categorized nutritionally as: normal, wasted or stunted. Evaluation comprised three cognitive tasks designed to be applied with a microcomputer. Assessment took place in their natural setting, after a mean of 14 h of overnight fasting, some having received a standard breakfast at random while the remaining children continued a fasting situation. We found no consistent association between study condition and performance in short-term visual memory, problem solving and attention tasks in any of the three nutritional groups. Stunted children showed significantly lower scores in the attention test irrespective of having received breakfast or not. These results suggest that given a motivating short-term task and maintaining routine conditions, missing breakfast does not affect the accuracy of the cognitive performance of children. Nutritionally affected children did not show a particular vulnerability to the fasting condition, but did show a specific cognitive deficit.

Attention↗
PubMed1980

The effect of treatment on mental and psychomotor development of marasmic infants according to age of admission.

The mental and psychomotor development of severely malnourished infants were examined during nutritional and psychological treatment. There was a significant difference between younger and older infants in their response to the treatment. The older infants had a remarkable reduction of their psychomotor development at admission and showed a considerable recovery throughout treatment. The younger infants became more affected during hospitalisation. The bodyweight deficit had mostly recovered by the end of the treatment.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1979

Psychomotor development during treatment of severely marasmic infants.

Previous studies of amlnourished infants have shown that their psychomotor development improves parallel to their nutritional rehabilitation. The present study showed that our patients recovered weight-for-age faster than height-for-age, becoming 42% obese at the end of the treatment. The psychomotor development was also significantly improved, but mainly in social, language and fine coordination areas. The gross motor behaviour did not show any improvement during 5 months of treatment. These results are interpreted in terms of the syndrome of dissociation of maturation.

Body Height↗
PubMed1977

Neuroticism, extraversion and slow brain potentials.

Peak amplitude and area under the curve of average vertex slow potentials recorded during the foreperiod of a reaction time task were found to discriminate between high- and low-neuroticism subjects, defined according to the Eysenck Personality Inventory. High-neuroticism subjects developed smaller peak amplitude, greater area and longer reaction times, presenting a high extinction rate when the imperative stimulus was omitted. Differences between extraverts and introverts were found within the low-neuroticism group and for area values, extraverts exhibiting larger area. A significant interaction effect of extraversion and neuroticism on slow-potential parameters was evidenced. Results are interpreted in terms of heightened arousal and disrupted focused attention in high-neuroticism subjects. Although evolutionary indexes of slow potentials could differentiate between extraverts and introverts, further work using inhibition indicators is needed to further clarify the differences between them. The data reported also suggest that different aspects of overt behavior would be associated diversely with slow-potential parameters.

Arousal↗