Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Martorell

Publications and source records attributed to R Martorell.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Stature and age as factors in the growth of second metacarpal cortical bone in moderately malnourished children.

The association of stature and age with measures of second metacarpal cortical bone growth is investigated in a sample of 1586 radiographs taken from Guatemalan Ladino children aged 1-7 years in a setting of endemic mild-to-moderate malnutrition. For given stature, chronological age is positively associated with cortical thickness and cortical area and negatively associated with periosteal and medullary diameter. These different partial correlations are seen as evidence of different kinds of growth. Correlations of cortical bone variables with body size within a chronological age are shown to derive from the overall relationship between age, stature, and measures of cortical bone.

Body Height↗
PubMed1977

Genetic-environmental interactions in physical growth.

Variability in stature among young children is often ascribed to health and nutrition differences in malnourished populations and to genetic differences in well-nourished populations. Hence, it was hypothesized that parent-child correlations in malnourished Guatemalan populations would be markedly lower than those reported for European samples. Instead, it was found that parent-child and sibling correlations were similar in both kinds of populations. The simplest interpretation of these results is that variability in stature among malnourished children is as much as reflection of genetic differences as in developed nations. However, explanations can also be advanced which would attribute the higher than expected correlations to the environment. For instance, it could be that socioeconomic and nutritional status is correlated across generations. In other words, parents who had relatively better conditions as children are more likely to provide a better environment for their children. Consequently, the relative contribution of genetics and environment to variability in height is still unsettled. Nonetheless, it appears that variability in body size in malnourished populations, regardless of the relative importance of its causes, is a useful indicator of health and nutrition.

Body Height↗
PubMed1977

[Effects of diarrhea on growth retardation in Guatemalan children].

The relationship between days ill with diarrhea and growth velocities in height and weight was investigated in 716 children from rural Guatemala, ranging in age from 0 to 7 years. Information regarding diarrheal diseases was obtained through biweekly interviews of mothers. Increments studies were semestral from 0 to 48 months and annual from 48 to 84 months of age. The results, based on two years of date collection, show that the greater the percent of time ill with diarrhea, the smaller the increments in height and weight. It was estimated that diarrheal diseases explain around 10% of the growth retardation observed in this population.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Estimation of stature in children from radiographically determined metacarpal length.

Whether radiographically determined second metacarpal diaphyseal length could provide a reliable estimator of stature in children was investigated. The data consist of measurements of stature and 1597 left hand-wrist radiographs of children from 1 to 7 years of age from rural Guatemala. The errors in estimating stature in children from metacarpal length are comparable to those from equations estimating stature from long bones. It is concluded that second metacarpal length may be a reliable and practicable referent for the estimation of stature in children.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1976

A simple assessment of the risk of low birth weight to select women for nutritional intervention.

There is growing evidence that the high prevalence of low-birth-weight (LBW) babies, a characteristic of many poor societies, can be significantly reduced through nutritional intervention programs. In order to increase the efficiency of these programs, pregnant women at risk of delivering LBW babies must be identified. Several risk scales have been extensively used in urban populations of developed countries. However, these indicators are of little use in poor communities, since most of them require expensive laboratory techniques, a long interview, at least two visits to a health center, and a precise estimation of gestational age. The present paper proposes several risk indicators of LBW, appropriate for use in areas with inadequate health resources. In a four-year longitudinal study of pregnant women from poor rural villages in Guatemala, mothers of LBW babies were found to be typically small in stature and head circumference. In addition, their houses tended to be of relatively poor quality. The proportion of LBW babies found among women at risk, as defined by these indicators, was significantly lower among women with similar characteristics receiving adequate food supplementation during pregnancy. Categories of high risk were based on maternal height, head circumference, and house quality. It is concluded that use of these categories will increase the efficiency of these programs without decreasing significantly their effectiveness.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1976

Sexual dimorphism in bone growth as a function of body size in moderately malnourished Guatemalan preschool age children.

The sexual dimorphism in second metacarpal bone growth was investigated in 710 malnourished Guatemalan children one to seven years old to determine if the sex differences seen are only the result of differences in stature and weight. The study sample was mixed-longitudinal and consisted of 1,586 annual examinations. Boys have greater mean stature, weight, periosteal diameter, medullary diameter and cortical area than girls the same age, while girls have greater age specific mean cortical thickness and percent cortical area than boys. When the effects of stature, weight and age are removed boys still have significantly larger periosteal and medullary diameters and less cortical thickness and percent cortical area than girls. These differences between boys and girls therefore cannot be explained by sex differences in body size. However, no sex differences in cortical area remain after accounting for differences in stature, weight and age.

Body Constitution↗
PubMed1976

Upper arm anthropometric indicators of nutritional status.

The growth in arm muscle area and arm fat area of preschool children from rural Guatemala is compared to that of a standard from the U.S.A. It was found that although the Guatemalan children have reduced arm muscle and fat areas, the relative reduction in arm fat area was greater than in arm muscle area. Further, the upper arm cross-sectional area of Guatemalan children had proportionately more muscle than fat when compared to that of U.S.A. children. Lastly, for the same body weight, Guatemalan children had a similar arm muscle area but a clearly smaller arm fat area than North American children. It is concluded that these findings suggest that energy rather than protein is the main nutritional problem in these Guatemalan children.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1976

Effects of maternal nutrition on fetal growth and infant development.

The results of a food supplementation study conducted in four chronically malnourished rural villages in Guatemala were analyzed to determine possible effects on the study children's early mental and physical development. One of two food supplements, atole and fresco, were given to pregnant and lactating mothers and the infants born to them up to three years of age. The level of supplement received was noted and the subsequent course of the children's development observed. Food supplementation of pregnant mothers was found to correlate with higher weights of their babies at birth. No other major maternal variables--home diet, body height and/or weight, morbidity, obstetric characteristics, or socioeconomic status--could account for this association. At 36 months of age the children who had received a large amount of food supplementation showed a far lower prevalence of growth retardation than did those who received smaller quantities. Again, this correlation could not be attributed to any other major maternal variables. In regard to mental development, food supplementation was found to correlate with better performance in psychological tests beginning at six months of age. At 36 months the correlations were significant in five different tests. The results of this analysis have wide-ranging implications for public health. Given the recognized association between low birthweight and infant mortality, they point especially to the importance of maternal nutrition during pregnancy in programs aimed at reducing this serious problem.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1976

Protein-calorie supplementation and postnatal physical growth: a review of findings from developing countries.

The literature on the effects of protein-calorie supplementation on physical growth rates in height and weight is reviewed. Only studies carried out in moderately malnourished children from developing nations are considered. Two main questions are asked: 1) Do changes in protein-calorie intake cause changes in growth in these children, and 2) How does the impact on growth of supplemental foods vary with changing protein-calorie amounts of the supplement and of the home diet? Although, the experiments reviewed were shown to have a series of limitations, it was concluded that protein-calorie supplementation is causally related to growth. Moreover, the evidence reviewed suggests that the relative contribution of calories and proteins to the association depends upon which nutrient is limiting in the home diet. That is, if proteins are limiting, proteins and not calories are apparently beneficial for growth rates. On the other hand, if calories are limiting, calories alone seem to improve growth rates. This suggests that before expensive supplementation programs are instituted, one should first investigate which nutrients are most limiting in the home diet.

Body Height↗
PubMed1976

The one-day recall dietary survey: a review of its usefulness to estimate protein and calorie intake.

This paper reviews the usefulness of the 1-day recall method for assessing calorie and protein intake. To this end, it discusses the basic assumptions in determining nutrient intake of either populations or individuals. It is concluded that the 1-day recall survey is valid and reliable to estimate mean dietary calorie and protein intake in population groups. Its reliability to estimate individual intake is, however, low, and similar to that of other more complicated dietary survey techniques. In consequence, frequent surveys per person are required to reliably estimate usual individual intake. Basic assumptions necessary to infer nutritional status as well as main limiting nutrients from dietary surveys are discussed. It is concluded that as long as basic objectives and assumptions are clear, the 1-day recall survey is a useful and practical tool estimate calorie and protein intake of population groups. In addition, a simplified one-day recall survey may be a suitable means for assessing calorie and protein individual intake provided that enough number of surveys per subject are performed.

Diet Surveys↗
PubMed1975

Effect of moderate maternal malnutrition on the placenta.

The results of two studies of the influence of moderate maternal malnutrition on the weight and chemical characteristics of the placenta are discussed. In the first study, two groups of pregnant women of high and low socioeconomic status from Guatemala City were studied. Socioeconomic status was defined by family income, educational level of the mother, and environmental sanitary conditions. Both groups were very similar with respect to age, parity, gestational age, and absence of severe disease during pregnancy. The average placental weight in the low socioeconomic group was 15 per cent below that of the high socioeconomic group and there was a consistent association between the postpartum maternal weight and placental weight. There were no differences between the two groups regarding placental concentration of fat, protein, water, ash, hemoglobin, and DNA; hydroxyproline and fat concentration were significantly lower in the low socioeconomic group. The hypothesis that the difference in placental weight observed between the two groups was primarily due to maternal nutritional status was tested in the second study by means of nutritional intervention in four rural villages in Guatemala. Two of the villages received a protein-calorie preparation while the other two received a calorie supplement. Placental weight was higher among women with high levels of supplemented calories during pregnancy, independently of the type of food supplement ingested. On the average, the groups with low caloric supplementation (smaller than 20,000 calories) had placental weight 11 per cent below those with high caloric supplementation (larger than or equal to 20,000 calories), In contrast to placental weight, the concentration of placental chemical components studied was not associated with caloric supplementation. It was concluded that moderate protein-calorie malnutrition during pregnancy leads to lower placental weight without significantly changing the concentration of the biochemical components studied. The reduction of placental weight may be the mechanism by which maternal malnutrition is associated with high prevalence of low-birth-weight babies in these populations.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1975

Acute morbidity and physical growth in rural Guatemalan children.

The relationship between morbidity and physical growth increments was investigated in 716 Guatemalan children ranging in age from 15 days to 7 years. The growth variables investigated were semestral and yearly increments in total body length and weight. The number of days ill with diarrhea, fever, and respiratory illnesses per semester or year was used as an indicator of morbidity. The morbidity data were collected through bi-weekly retrospective interviews of mothers. Children less ill with diarrhea had substantially larger increments in length and weight than children who were ill with diarrhea a greater percentage of the time. In contrast, fever and respiratory illnesses did not affect growth rates. These findings highlight the fact that diarrhea is a major public health problem in developing nations.

Body Height↗
PubMed1975

Diarrheal diseases and growth retardation in preschool Guatemalan children.

The relationship between diarrheal diseases and growth increments in total body length and weight was investigated in 716 rural Ladino Gautemalan children. Data on diarrheal diseases were provided by the mothers through retrospective surveys carried out at 14-day intervals. Increments in length and weight, semestral from near birth at four years and yearly thence to seven, were related to days ill with diarrheal diseases during the same time interval. Because the data here reported were collected over a two year period, a child may have had information for more than one period. In total, 1,343 child periods were investigated. Days ill with diarrheal diseases were found to be significantly associated with reduced growth in length and weight. It was assumed that the average differences in growth by seven years of age between children in the present sample and children from well-to-do societies, are mainly a function of environmental differences and consequently, a measure of the extent of growth retardation. By expressing the growth retardation specifically associated with diarrheal diseases as a fraction of the above differences it was then estimated that around 10% of this growth retardation was associated with diarrheal diseases.

Anthropometry↗