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Biomedical subjects

R J Karp

Publications and source records attributed to R J Karp.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

The school health service as a means of entry into the inner-city family for the identification of malnourished children.

Fourteen (10%) of 143 inner-city school children evaluated during the year of entry into elementary school were found to have short stature, to be underweight, and to have reduced subcutaneous fat deposition. These conditions were found to be associated with hematological characteristics of poor nutrition, and therefore, these children were considered to be "at risk" for malnutrition. Investigation into the homes of the at risk children revealed a single family in which no food was available for consumption.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ethnic differences in growth and nutritional status: a study of poor schoolchildren in southern New Jersey.

The growth and nutritional status of 2,056 schoolchildren from a poor community in southern New Jersey were assessed. Age-adjusted differences in growth among black, white, and Hispanic children were examined. Black youths were 2.5 centimeters (cm) taller (P less than .001) and 0.9 kilograms (kg) heavier than white youths (P less than .05). Black girls were 4.1 cm taller (P less than .001) and 2.8 kg heavier than white girls (P less than .01). Hispanic girls were 1 kg heavier (P less than .05) and 0.9 cm taller (not significant) than white girls. There was little difference in growth between Hispanic and white youths. Children were assessed with the use of the Centers for Disease Control's nutritional surveillance cutpoints; less than 5 percent of each ethnic group fell below the fifth percentile, according to the National Center for Health Statistics' weight-for-height standards. White and Hispanic youths were twice as likely as blacks to fall below the 5th percentile for stature or to be overweight (above the 95th percentile for weight-for-height). Compared with black girls, white and Hispanic girls were three to four times more likely to fall below the fifth percentile for stature. The prevalence of short stature was also higher among white girls (15.9 percent) compared with Hispanics (10.3 percent). There was little difference in the prevalence of overweight by ethnic group for girls. These data show that white children from poor communities have decreased growth and suggest that they may be at increased risk of nutritional problems.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of rise in food costs on hemoglobin concentrations of early school-age children, 1972-75.

In a hematologic survey conducted in 1972, microcythemia in school children was found to be associated with microcythemia in other family members. The association of cultural characteristics of chronic poverty with reduced red cell volume suggested nutritional iron deficiency. A resurvey of families was made in 1975. For 39 children between the ages of 3 and 10 years at the time of both surveys, mean hemoglobin concentration (HGB) decreased from 21.0 g/dl to 10.8 g/dl. Thirteen infants, 6 months to 3 years of age in 1972, in the resurveyed families had mean HGB of 11.5 g/dl as compared to 10.4 g/dl for 9 similarly aged children newly born into the resurvey families. The rate of somatic growth was unchanged during the interval between survey. During the interval between 1972 and 1975, food costs rose nationally, and the purchase of meat products decreased both nationally and (as found in this study) locally. The data suggest that the high cost of foods rich in micronutrients may increase the prevalence of iron deficiency in an impoverished community.

Anemia, Hypochromic↗