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  • Title: Nutritional status of a nationwide sample of rural Mexican populations.
    Author: Villalpando S, Flores-Huerta S, Hernández-Beltrán MJ, Ramírez-Grande ME.
    Journal: Rev Invest Clin; 1992; 44(1):21-30. PubMed ID: 1523346.
    Abstract:
    Information on nutritional status of the rural Mexican population is mostly obtained from cross-sectional studies. This investigation evaluates semi-longitudinally the nutritional level of a sample of the rural population of Mexico. A total of 15,552 individuals in 2,587 households from 208 rural communities were evaluated. Body weight and height of rural boys and girls were found to be significantly lower than in their urban counterparts. Severe forms of weight for age or height for age inadequacy were more frequent in females than in males, in smaller communities than in larger ones, and in economically depressed zones than in those with a good economy. Our data showed a lower frequency of mild and moderate forms of possible malnutrition than previous studies (20 vs 50%) using as a criterion weight for age. These differences are explained on the basis of sampling bias. The nutritional status of 15,552 individuals of both sexes in 2587 households from 208 rural communities in Mexico was evaluated in a semilongitudinal nationwide study. Research was carried out from March 1982 to February 1983. The communities were randomly selected from among the 3000 with Mexican Institute of Social Security-COPLAMAR primary health care services. The 8 geoeconomic zones identified by Bassols-Batalla were represented. 10 families with at least 1 infant under 1 year old were selected in communities with under 5000 inhabitants, while 20 such families were selected from communities with 5001-20,000 inhabitants. Body weight, height or length, and arm and calf circumferences were measured in all household members in March-April 1982, and again in July-August 1982 and January-February 1983. The proportion of household heads employed primarily in agriculture ranged from 88% in the smaller communities to 32% in the larger. Families in small communities were mainly peasants in subsistence farming, while household heads in larger communities who were employed in agriculture were mostly owners of small plots. 40-54% of the mothers in communities of different sizes had 3 years or less of school attendance. Comparison of growth curves of the rural population with reference data from urban children showed similar median body weight in both groups at 2 years of age. But by age 18, median weight and height, respectively, were 8.6 kg lower and 9 cm shorter for rural boys and 5.5 kg lower and 5 cm shorter for rural girls. The most severe forms of inadequacy in weight for age were more frequent in females than males, in smaller communities than larger, and in the economically depressed zones. Severe inadequacy of height for age was more frequent in the states located on the southern Pacific Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The frequency of mild and moderate forms of malnutrition according to weight for age was 20%, lower than the rate of 50% estimated in previous published studies. Selection of a broader range of rural communities rather than just the most marginal, and the bias introduced by selecting the sample from among communities with primary health services may explain the lower rate in this study.
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