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Biomedical subjects

R Martorell

Publications and source records attributed to R Martorell.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Maternal supplementation and bone growth in infancy.

The effects of maternal supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on bone growth of infants were investigated in 272 mother-infant pairs who participated in the Guatemalan Longitudinal Study of Nutritional Supplementation, Growth and Development. Mothers received one of two nutritional supplements according to village of residence, and bone growth was determined from dimensions of the second metacarpal measured directly from hand-wrist radiographs of 3-month-old infants. Multiple regression analyses indicated significant supplementation effects on cortical bone dimensions related to the volume of supplement intake. These findings were independent of maternal characteristics and attendance at the supplementation centres, and the infant's gender, size, gestational age and morbidity experience. The nutrient composition of the supplements and the patterns of the supplementation effects eliminate proteins, energy, calcium and phosphorus as the nutrients potentially responsible for the bone-specific response. Candidate nutrients for the observed effects are vitamin A, ascorbic acid, niacin, thiamin, iron or fluorine. Presumptive evidence suggests the effects may be due to vitamin A supplementation. These findings suggest opportunities for nutritional intervention in pregnancy and the early postpartum period to prevent osteopaenia in infancy.

Bone Development↗
PubMed1990

An evaluation of food group intakes by Mexican-American children.

Food group daily servings were examined for 3,436 children who participated in the Mexican-American portion of the 1982-1983 Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES). Mean daily servings of 40 foods and food groups were calculated for four age groups: 1 to 2 years, 3 to 5 years, 6 to 11 years, and 12 to 17 years. The HHANES food servings data were combined into four major groups and compared with recommended servings for children. Mean daily servings of the milk group exceeded the recommended two to three servings for younger children but were low for teenagers. Meat group servings (including eggs and nuts/legumes) exceeded the recommended two daily servings for all age groups, whereas bread group intakes averaged 70% to 80% of a recommendation of four servings but only half of a recommendation of six servings. Intakes of fruits and vegetables were lowest, averaging only 33% to 47% of a recommended four servings, or 26% to 38% of a recommended five servings. Servings of all four groups were lowest for teenagers. A dietary score, based on the number of servings from each of the four groups, was developed for each child. Mean dietary scores ranged from 55% (teenagers) to 70% (toddlers and preschoolers) of the recommended score. According to these analyses, dietary guidance for Mexican-American children should focus on increasing intakes of fruits and vegetables and on encouraging more nutritious food choices by teenagers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Incidence and duration of breast-feeding in Mexican-American infants, 1970-1982.

The Mexican-American component of the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES-MA) was used to examine the breast-feeding behavior of 2402 infants born between 1970 and 1982. The proportion of infants ever breast-fed increased substantially in recent years. Weighted proportions were 30.7% for 1970-1974, 38.1% for 1975-1978, and 47.6% for 1979-1982. By use of logistic regression models, children born into households with a college-educated head were shown to be more likely to be breast-fed than were other children; breast-feeding was also positively associated with birth weight. Infants in households for which the preferred interview language was Spanish were more likely to be breast-fed than were infants living in households for which the interview was conducted in English. Analysis of the factors influencing the distribution of weaning times among infants was less definitive because reported weaning times are heaped on multiples of 3 mo. The gathering of current-status, or status quo, information on infant feeding is urged for data collection in future studies.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1989

[Interaction of dietary intake and diarrheal disease in child growth].

There is evidence in the literature of the negative effects of diarrheal disease, and of the positive effects caused by food supplementation in postnatal growth. The present study analyzes the nature of the relationship between the effects of diarrheal disease and food supplementation on the growth of children of a rural area of Guatemala. The data analyzed were collected in a longitudinal study on food supplementation carried out by INCAP during the period comprised between 1969 and 1977. An important negative effect of diarrheal disease on growth was found on children three to 36 months of age with low dietary intake. Nevertheless, it was found that the negative effect of diarrheal disease on growth was lower in children whose dietary intake had important increments. In contrast, as compared with a study carried out in Colombia, where the supplementary feeding effect was restricted to groups with higher incidence of diarrhea, the supplementation effect on growth of Guatemalan children was found to be present at all levels of prevalence of diarrheal diseases. This article discusses the possible causes of the different results found in the Colombian study, as compared with those derived from the present study.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1989

Genetic and environmental determinants of growth in Mexican-Americans.

Height and weight data from the Mexican-American portion of the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES) are shown for children of ages 2 to 17 years and compared with data for non-Hispanic white children from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference curves. Differences in stature between the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the reference populations were minor prior to adolescence and could be entirely attributed to the greater poverty of Mexican-Americans. However, differences increased during adolescence (ie, median stature was less than the 25th percentile of the NCHS reference population at 17 years of age) and, in contrast with earlier ages, were independent of poverty. Similar growth patterns were observed in samples of upper-class subjects from Mexico and Guatemala. Nonetheless, the extent to which the short stature of Mexican-American adolescents is genetic is unclear because there is an apparent time trend toward greater stature in the Mexican-American population. In conclusion, the NCHS reference curves are appropriate growth standards for preadolescent Mexican-American children. Whether they are valid for Mexican-American adolescents remains unclear.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Congenital spinal cord haemangioblastoma: another cause of spinal cord section syndrome in the newborn.

A newborn infant with negative perinatal history and characteristic clinical findings of upper cervical spinal cord section is described. Metrizamide myelography performed on the 7th and 22nd days of life was negative. Peroneal somatosensory evoked responses showed a conduction block at the cervical level. Necropsy revealed a haemangioblastoma extending from levels C1 to C5.

Asphyxia Neonatorum↗
PubMed1988

Frequent reproductive cycling: does it lead to nutritional depletion of mothers?

Is frequent reproductive cycling (episodes of pregnancy and/or lactation) in poor women from developing countries a cause of poor maternal nutritional status? This review seeks to examine the evidence available to answer this question. The measurement of reproductive cycling, maternal nutritional status, and the energetic costs of pregnancy and lactation are reviewed. The data available on the anthropometric changes during pregnancy and lactation are described. Against this background, the evidence in support of the hypothesis that repeated reproductive cycling leads to a maternal depletion syndrome is examined. It is concluded that although the data are inadequate to unequivocally establish or rule out the existence of maternal nutritional depletion due to a demanding reproductive history, the data suggest this relationship does exist. Weaknesses of current measurement and study design methodologies are identified and priorities for future research aimed at clarifying the extent to which reproductive cycling affects maternal nutritional status are identified.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed1987

Short and plump physique of Mexican-American children.

Mexican-American children are shorter but relatively heavier than non-Hispanic whites and blacks. The objectives of this paper are to assess the extent to which this "short and plump" physique occurs in data collected in two national surveys (HANES I and II); to determine variations by age, sex, and socioeconomic status; and to investigate the anthropometric characteristics that may account for the overweight. Three groups, defined on the basis of reported ancestry and observed race, are studied: Mexican-Americans (MEXAME), non-Hispanic Whites, (EURAME), and blacks (BLACK). Short stature was clearly associated with the poverty index (PI) in all three groups. MEXAMEs with a PI greater than 1.6 were similar in stature to EURAMEs at the same income level at ages 1-11 years but not at 12-17 years. On the other hand, MEXAMEs were shorter than BLACKs at all ages and income levels. The body mass index (kg/cm2) and poverty were unrelated. With respect to the anthropometric characteristics examined that are related to the body mass index, MEXAMEs and EURAMEs were similar in sitting height as a proportion of total height, arm muscle and fat areas, and triceps skinfold but different in the following ways: MEXAMEs had narrower elbow but broader bitrochanteric breadths and larger chest circumferences and subscapular skinfolds. Greater upper body dimensions and fatfolds seem to best describe the physique of MEXAMEs. However, in multiple regressions, these anthropometric characteristics failed to account fully for the greater relative weight of MEXAMEs as compared to EURAMEs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Ethnomedicine and oral rehydration therapy: a case study of ethnomedical investigation and program planning.

Diarrheal disease prevention and diarrheal disease control with oral rehydration therapy are major goals of the World Health Organization and the international health community. This paper promotes the use of ethnographic research in this endeavor. It illustrates the use of ethnography in a diarrheal disease prevention and control program in Honduras by illustrating how knowledge of local beliefs and practices partially shaped promotion efforts. It confirms the validity of the original ethnographic findings by reporting the results of a survey conducted two years after program onset.

Anthropology, Cultural↗
PubMed1984

Characteristics and determinants of child nutritional status in Nepal.

Herein, we examine characteristics and determinants of child malnutrition in the districts of Bara and Rautahat of the Terai region of Nepal. The sample studied consists of 510 rural children ranging in age from 3 to 10 yr. The Nepali children were found to have one of the highest reported prevalences of stunting (65% were less than 90% National study for Health Statistics median height for age). The study children were also 1 to 1.5 kg lighter when compared to US children of the same height. Fat deposits, as measured by anthropometric variables and Hb levels were also very low. Multiple regression analysis showed that age, district of residence, household income, breast-feeding, and several specific food items were significant predictors of nutritional status. Association with other factors such as caste and parental schooling, were not evident in multiple regressions. Boys were as likely to be malnourished as girls. Prolonged breast-feeding was associated with greater fat stores, but with reduced stature and low Hb values. Both landholdings and household income were found to be positively and significantly associated with almost all measures of nutritional status.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1984

Heterogeneous growth and mental development of intrauterine growth-retarded infants during the first 3 years of life.

Postnatal growth and development were studied in two groups of term infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and one group of infants with normal birth weight up to 3 years of age (total sample, 205 infants). Infants with IUGR were classified as having low ponderal index (IUGR-LPI) or adequate ponderal index (IUGR-API). At birth, the two groups of infants with IUGR had similar birth weight, but length and head circumference measurements were significantly different. Overall, the IUGR-API infants remained lighter and shorter and had smaller head circumferences up to 30 months of age. The IUGR-LPI infants experienced catch-up growth in weight during the first months, because of greater fat deposition. At 24 months of age, the IUGR-API infants scored below the others on mental items. At 3 years of age the IUGR-API infants had the lowest values on seven of eight developmental measures and on the composite score; at these two time periods, the group with normal birth weight scored the highest, and the IUGR-LPI infants obtained intermediate values. It is concluded that infants with IUGR tend to follow postnatal growth and developmental patterns that are associated with their physical characteristics at birth.

Body Height↗