Health survey on the Ilha da Conceição, state of Rio de Janeiro, II: selected health characteristics in children

Mules, J. E; Entwisle, G; Coura, J. B.; Menezes, J

doi:10.1590/S0037-86821970000600008

Abstracts

As part of the health survey on the Ilha da Conceição, a 25 percent random sample of households was identified and a health guestionnaire completed at 236 households. These households contained 536 children, of whom 239 were under age six. Prenatal care had been obtained by 70 percent of the mothers during the pregnancies of the youngest children and 83 percent of these children had been born in hospital. The use of available health facilities was reported more frequently for the younger children in comparison to the older children. Over 90 percent of the children had been vaccinated against one or more diseases but only 50 to 60 percent of the children had complete vaccination against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. Almost two-thirds of the stool specimens from the children revealed evidence of parasites and were most commonly found in children two to three years of age. Low hemoglobin values were found commonly under age three and hemoglobin leveis ábove 12 grams were not commonly found until age six. Compared with a North American standard for height and weight, proportionately more children on the Ilha da Conceição were found below the 25th and 3rd percentiles. These findings suggest that an improved health status for the children on the Ilha da Conceição would result from a household health record maintained at the island clinic including current information on vaccination status of all children, and a health education program focused on expectant mothers and the well baby clinic program.

Como parte do inquérito de saúde na Ilha da Conceição, foram identificadas 25% de amostras casuais de domicílios e concluído um questionário de saúde em 236 domicílios, onde residiam 536 crianças, das quais 239 tinham menos de 6 anos de idade. 70% das mães durante o período de gravidez dos filhos menores receberam cuidados pré-natais e 83% dessas crianças nasceram no hospital. O uso de facilidades sanitárias disponíveis foi relatado mais freqüentemente para as crianças menores em comparação com as de maiores grupos etários. Mais de 90% das crianças tinham sido vacinadas contra uma ou mais doenças; apenas 50 a 60% tinham vacinação completa contra coqueluche, difteria e tétano. Quase 2/3 das amostras de fezes das crianças evidenciaram parasitos, mais freqüentes em crianças de 2 a 3 anos. Valores baixos de hemoglobina foram em geral encontrados em crianças abaixo de 3 anos e níveis de hemoglobina acima de 12g não foram comumente encontrados até 6 anos de idade. Comparados com um padrão norte-americano para altura e pêso, proporcionalmente a maaioria das crianças na Ilha da Conceição foi encontrada abaixo de 25º e 3º "percentils". Êsses achados sugerem que um "status" de saúde melhorado para as crianças na Ilha da Conceição poderia ser conseguido mediante um registro de saúde domiciliar mantido na clínica da ilha, incluindo informações gerais sôbre vacinação de tôdas as crianças, um programa de educação sanitária especialmente focalizando as gestantes e um bom programa de higiene e clínica infantil.

Health survey on the Ilha da Conceição, state of Rio de Janeiro, II. selected health characteristics in children

J. E. Mules; G. Entwisle; J. B. Coura; J. Menezes

ABSTRACT

As part of the health survey on the Ilha da Conceição, a 25 percent random sample of households was identified and a health guestionnaire completed at 236 households. These households contained 536 children, of whom 239 were under age six. Prenatal care had been obtained by 70 percent of the mothers during the pregnancies of the youngest children and 83 percent of these children had been born in hospital.

The use of available health facilities was reported more frequently for the younger children in comparison to the older children. Over 90 percent of the children had been vaccinated against one or more diseases but only 50 to 60 percent of the children had complete vaccination against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. Almost two-thirds of the stool specimens from the children revealed evidence of parasites and were most commonly found in children two to three years of age. Low hemoglobin values were found commonly under age three and hemoglobin leveis ábove 12 grams were not commonly found until age six.

Compared with a North American standard for height and weight, proportionately more children on the Ilha da Conceição were found below the 25th and 3rd percentiles.

These findings suggest that an improved health status for the children on the Ilha da Conceição would result from a household health record maintained at the island clinic including current information on vaccination status of all children, and a health education program focused on expectant mothers and the well baby clinic program.

RESUMO

Como parte do inquérito de saúde na Ilha da Conceição, foram identificadas 25% de amostras casuais de domicílios e concluído um questionário de saúde em 236 domicílios, onde residiam 536 crianças, das quais 239 tinham menos de 6 anos de idade. 70% das mães durante o período de gravidez dos filhos menores receberam cuidados pré-natais e 83% dessas crianças nasceram no hospital.

O uso de facilidades sanitárias disponíveis foi relatado mais freqüentemente para as crianças menores em comparação com as de maiores grupos etários. Mais de 90% das crianças tinham sido vacinadas contra uma ou mais doenças; apenas 50 a 60% tinham vacinação completa contra coqueluche, difteria e tétano. Quase 2/3 das amostras de fezes das crianças evidenciaram parasitos, mais freqüentes em crianças de 2 a 3 anos. Valores baixos de hemoglobina foram em geral encontrados em crianças abaixo de 3 anos e níveis de hemoglobina acima de 12g não foram comumente encontrados até 6 anos de idade.

Comparados com um padrão norte-americano para altura e pêso, proporcionalmente a maaioria das crianças na Ilha da Conceição foi encontrada abaixo de 25^o e 3^o "percentils".

Êsses achados sugerem que um "status" de saúde melhorado para as crianças na Ilha da Conceição poderia ser conseguido mediante um registro de saúde domiciliar mantido na clínica da ilha, incluindo informações gerais sôbre vacinação de tôdas as crianças, um programa de educação sanitária especialmente focalizando as gestantes e um bom programa de higiene e clínica infantil.

Full text available only in PDF format.

Texto completo disponível apenas em PDF.

Submitted to publication on 19.6.1970.

From the Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. and Department of Tropical Medicine, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Estado do Rio, Brasil.

1. DREIZEN, S., CURRIE, C., GILLEY, E. J., SPIES, T. D.: The Effect of Nutritive Failure on the Growth Patterns of White Children in Alabama. Child. Develop. 24: 189-202, 1953.
2. GRAHAM, G. G. and MORELES, E: Studies in Infantile Malnutrition. J. Nutr. 79: 479-487, 1963.
3. HAMMOND, W. H: Measurement and Interpretation of Subcutaneous Fat, with Norms for Children and Young Aduit Males. Brit. J. Prev. Soc. Med. 9: 201-211, 1955.
4. HOPKINS, J. W.: Height and Weight of Ottawa and Weight of Ottawa Elementary School Children of Tow Socioeconomic Strata. Hum. Biol. 19: 68-82, 1947.
5. JELLIFFE, D. B. and JELLIFFE, E. P.: Prevalence of Protein-Calorie Mainutrition in Haitian Preschool Children. Amer J. Pub. Healt 50: 1353-1366, 1960.
6. MEREDITH, H. V.: Stature and Weight of Children in the United States. Amer. J. Dis. Child. 62: 909- 932, 1941.
7 MULES, J. E., ENTWISLE, G., COURA, J., R. and MENEZES, J.: A Health Study of the Ilha da Conceição, Estado do Rio. I. Study design and Report of Seleocted Demographic and Environmental Characteristics. Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop., 5: 381-390, 1970.
8. NOCKS, B. N.: Nutrition Study in British Honduras. Amer J. Clin. Nutr. 20: 661-617, 1967.
9. PHILLIPS, H. T.: Some Social and Ethnic Variations in the Physique and Growth of South African Nursery- School Children. Chapter X in: A Practic of Social Medicine, Edited by Kark. S. L. and Steuart. G. W. Edinburgh, Livinsgstone, 1962.
10. SANDERS, B. S.: Environment and Growth, Baltimore, Warwick and York, 1934, Chapter 6.
11. STINE, O. C., SARATSIOTIS. J. B.: and FURNO, O. F.: Appraising the Health of Culturally Deprivel Children. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 20: 1084- 1095, 1967.
12. STOCK. M. D. and SMYTH, P. M.: Does Undernutrition during Infancy Inhibit Brain Growth and Subsequent Intellectual Development? Arch. Dis. Child. 38: 546, 1963.
13. TIE, L. T., LIAN. O. K., LIONG-ONG, T. W. and ROSE, C. S.: Health Development and Nutritional Survey of Preschool Children in Central Java. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 20: 1260-1266, ., 1967.
14. UNDERWOOD, B. A., HEPNER, R., CROSS, E., MIRZA, A. B., HAYAT, K. and KALUE, A.: Height, Weight and Skin-Fold Thickness Data Collected During a Survey of Rural and Urban Population of West Pakistan. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 20: 694-701, 1967.
15. WATSON, E. H. and LOWNEY, G. H.: Growth and Development of Children. Chicago, The Year Book Publishers, 2dn Ed. 1954, p. 60-63.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
26 June 2013
Date of issue
Dec 1970

History

Received
19 June 1970
Accepted
19 June 1970

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] 1. DREIZEN, S., CURRIE, C., GILLEY, E. J., SPIES, T. D.: The Effect of Nutritive Failure on the Growth Patterns of White Children in Alabama. Child. Develop. 24: 189-202, 1953.

[2] 2. GRAHAM, G. G. and MORELES, E: Studies in Infantile Malnutrition. J. Nutr. 79: 479-487, 1963.

[3] 3. HAMMOND, W. H: Measurement and Interpretation of Subcutaneous Fat, with Norms for Children and Young Aduit Males. Brit. J. Prev. Soc. Med. 9: 201-211, 1955.

[4] 4. HOPKINS, J. W.: Height and Weight of Ottawa and Weight of Ottawa Elementary School Children of Tow Socioeconomic Strata. Hum. Biol. 19: 68-82, 1947.

[5] 5. JELLIFFE, D. B. and JELLIFFE, E. P.: Prevalence of Protein-Calorie Mainutrition in Haitian Preschool Children. Amer J. Pub. Healt 50: 1353-1366, 1960.

[6] 6. MEREDITH, H. V.: Stature and Weight of Children in the United States. Amer. J. Dis. Child. 62: 909- 932, 1941.

[7] 7 MULES, J. E., ENTWISLE, G., COURA, J., R. and MENEZES, J.: A Health Study of the Ilha da Conceição, Estado do Rio. I. Study design and Report of Seleocted Demographic and Environmental Characteristics. Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop., 5: 381-390, 1970.

[8] 8. NOCKS, B. N.: Nutrition Study in British Honduras. Amer J. Clin. Nutr. 20: 661-617, 1967.

[9] 9. PHILLIPS, H. T.: Some Social and Ethnic Variations in the Physique and Growth of South African Nursery- School Children. Chapter X in: A Practic of Social Medicine, Edited by Kark. S. L. and Steuart. G. W. Edinburgh, Livinsgstone, 1962.

[10] 10. SANDERS, B. S.: Environment and Growth, Baltimore, Warwick and York, 1934, Chapter 6.

[11] 11. STINE, O. C., SARATSIOTIS. J. B.: and FURNO, O. F.: Appraising the Health of Culturally Deprivel Children. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 20: 1084- 1095, 1967.

[12] 12. STOCK. M. D. and SMYTH, P. M.: Does Undernutrition during Infancy Inhibit Brain Growth and Subsequent Intellectual Development? Arch. Dis. Child. 38: 546, 1963.

[13] 13. TIE, L. T., LIAN. O. K., LIONG-ONG, T. W. and ROSE, C. S.: Health Development and Nutritional Survey of Preschool Children in Central Java. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 20: 1260-1266, ., 1967.

[14] 14. UNDERWOOD, B. A., HEPNER, R., CROSS, E., MIRZA, A. B., HAYAT, K. and KALUE, A.: Height, Weight and Skin-Fold Thickness Data Collected During a Survey of Rural and Urban Population of West Pakistan. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 20: 694-701, 1967.

[15] 15. WATSON, E. H. and LOWNEY, G. H.: Growth and Development of Children. Chicago, The Year Book Publishers, 2dn Ed. 1954, p. 60-63.