These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: The impact of short stature on child morbidity in a rural African community.
    Author: Ibrahim MM, Wall S, Persson LA.
    Journal: Ann Trop Paediatr; 1998 Jun; 18(2):145-54. PubMed ID: 9924576.
    Abstract:
    This study was undertaken to assess whether short stature in children under 5 years of age is associated with an increased risk of acute or persistent diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection, or indeed any illness, taking account of possible confounding factors such as whether breastfed, water quality, degree of household crowding, age and gender. After initial anthropometric assessment, the morbidity and diet of a cohort of 403 Somali children were recorded for 1 year at 2-week intervals. In multivariate analyses of the findings, adjustments were made for the possible confounding factors listed. Short stature was associated with an increased incidence of acute diarrhoea (< -2 SD score, RR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.2) and with a risk of developing persistent diarrhoea, but not with the incidence of acute respiratory infections. When adjusting for age only, short stature increased the risk of developing any illness, but this association was not shown when adjusting for the other possible confounding factors. There was a dose-effect relationship between different degrees of short stature and acute diarrhoea, with an increased incidence of acute diarrhoea among the shortest children. Efforts were made to account for the possibility of reverse causality, which seemed not to change the main findings. Thus, short stature seemed to increase the risk of subsequent acute diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age. Short stature, or stunting, is reportedly very common among infants aged 12-23 months in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Linear growth retardation results from the populations' exposure to poor economic conditions, repeated infections, and chronic food deficits. The authors assessed whether the short stature of children under age 5 years is associated with an increased risk of acute or persistent diarrhea, acute respiratory infection, or any illness, adjusting for possible confounding factors such as whether the child was breast-fed, water quality, degree of household crowding, age, and gender. Following initial anthropometric assessment, the morbidity and diet of a cohort of 403 Somali children were recorded for 1 year at 2-week intervals. Short stature was associated with an increased incidence of acute diarrhea and with a risk of developing persistent diarrhea, but not with the incidence of acute respiratory infections. When adjusting for age only, short stature increased the risk of developing any illness, but that association was not shown when adjusting for other possible confounding factors. A dose-effect relationship was found between different degrees of short stature and acute diarrhea, with an increased incidence of acute diarrhea among the shortest children. Efforts were made to account for the possibility of reverse causality, which seemed not to change these main findings.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]