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Biomedical subjects

R Martorell

Publications and source records attributed to R Martorell.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Relationship of maternal and infant nutrition to infant growth.

A cohort of all infants born between January 1, 1969 and February 28, 1977 in four rural villages in Eastern Guatemala which were participating in a longitudinal project of nutrition and mental development was studied. As part of the study, prospective information on anthropometric measurements, morbidity, dietary intake and socioeconomic and cultural characteristics was collected. In addition, two types of food supplements were distributed: calorie and protein-calorie. Attendance at the feeding centers in each village and the amount of supplements consumed by children and pregnant and lactating mothers were recorded daily. We studied the effect of the supplements consumed by the mother during pregnancy and lactation and by the infant on trimestral infant weight and length changes during the first year of life. The data indicate that infant calorie supplementation before three months of age is significantly and negatively associated with infant growth; after three months of age, supplemental calories consumed by the infant are significantly and positively associated with infant weight and length gains. In addition, a small positive association was found between maternal caloric supplementation during lactation and infant growth during the first two trimesters of life, after controlling for potentially confounding factors for which data are available in this study.

Body Height↗
PubMed1982

Nutrition, lactation, and birth interval components in rural Guatemala.

The effects of maternal nutritional status and food supplementation ingested by the infant on the duration of postpartum amenorrhea and on the duration of the menstruating interval was examined. A significant negative association was found between the nutritional status of the mother during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and infant supplementation, on the one hand, and the length of postpartum amenorrhea on the other hand. These associations remained significant after controlling for each other and for other potentially confounding factors for which data wee collected. These results support the hypothesis that maternal nutritional status, by determining the amount of breast milk available, hence the frequency, duration, and intensity of suckling, is indirectly, negatively associated to the length of postpartum amenorrhea. Furthermore, no association between maternal nutritional status and the length of the menstruating interval was found.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Seasonality and nutritional status. A review of findings from developed and developing countries.

Studies of seasonality and growth from developed nations demonstrate distinct effects on weight and height gains according to the season. When maximal group gains in height are recorded, minimal weight gains are detected. Only a quarter and a third of all children had their minimal and maximal height gains respectively, in the same period as minimal and maximal group gains occurred. Rain and pre-harvest months are usually associated separately with the disease incidence peaks and with lower energy and nutrient intake. In most areas of the developing world, however, rainy months with a higher incidence of diseases coincide with the lean or hungry pre-harvest months. Some communities have devised certain mechanisms which are likely to buffer negative seasonal effects (rainy or pre-harvest months) on health and nutritional status. Thus, either as a result of lower intakes of energy and nutrients and/or less efficient utilization of energy and nutrients, one is likely to find important seasonal effects in poor agricultural communities of developing countries. The importance of adequate knowledge about seasonal effects to support the better use of existing resources allocated to health and nutrition programs is discussed.

Body Weight↗
PubMed1981

Notes on the history of nutritional anthropometry.

This paper reviews briefly the history of the use of growth for assessing nutritional status. The first significant development occurred during the early part of the 19th century when studies of army conscripts and of English working children established that poor growth was a reflection of poverty, malnutrition, and disease. The development of statistics later in the 19th century had an explosive effect on growth and development research and provided the techniques necessary for the elaboration of growth standards. The preferred indicator of nutritional status during the early part of the 20th century was weight for height, children being usually considered undernourished if they were 10% below the ideal weight for height and age. It was not until the 1940's that longitudinal growth data arising from the studies implemented in the 1920's and 1930's became available for use as percentile standards. The appropriateness of Western growth standards for developing countries became a topic of debate as many anthropometric surveys began to be carried out in developing countries after World War II. Efforts to develop valid, reliable, and simple indicators of nutritional status for use in developing countries continue to this day. The functional implications of growth retardation, particularly the contrast between stunting and wasting, is likely to be an important subject for future research.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1981

The relationship between physical growth and infant behavioral development in rural Guatemala.

The present study investigated the relationship between a number of anthropometric indices and behavioral development during the first 2 years of life in rural Guatemala. Length and weight were the indices most strongly correlated with behavioral development. If the effect of the infant's length and weight was statistically controlled for, none of the other anthropometric variables explained a significant proportion of the variance in behavioral development. Controlling the length (or weight) assessed at the same age as the behavioral assessment, length (or weight) for younger ages was not significantly correlated with behavioral development. Changes in length or weight over time correlated with changes in behavioral performance. We were unable to explain the association between physical growth and behavioral development by a number of variables including gestational age, nutrient intake, prevalence of disease, and familial characteristics.

Body Height↗
PubMed1980

The impact of ordinary illnesses on the dietary intakes of malnourished children.

The effect of respiratory infections, diarrhea, illness-induced apathy, and of a summary variable of selected common symptoms on food intake was estimated from data collected on preschool children from rural Guatemala. The presence of selected common symptoms was associated with an average reduction in daily intake of nearly 20%, equivalent to 175 kcal and 4.8 g of protein. Effects were of similar magnitude for diarrhea and for apathy but lower for respiratory infections, namely 61 kcal and 1.0 g of protein. It is concluded that common illnesses are an important cause of low dietary intakes in children from Guatemama.

Aging↗
PubMed1979

Effect of maternal nutritional status and infant supplementation during lactation on postpartum amenorrhea.

This paper explores the effects of maternal nutritional status and food supplementation ingested by the infant on the duration of postpartum amenorrhea. A significant negative association was found between the nutritional status of the mother during the third trimester of pregnancy and the length of postpartum amenorrhea. A negative association was also found between infant supplementation and duration of postpartum amenorrhea. Each of these associations remained significant after controlling for the other, suggesting that both factors independently affect the length of postpartum amenorrhea.

Amenorrhea↗