Apparently healthy preschool children (46 boys, 52 girls) aged 27-50 mo from low socioeconomic conditions who attended daycare centers in Santiago participated in a 14-mo long double-blind zinc supplementation trial. Unlike most previous studies, no additional inclusion criteria such as short stature or slow growth rate were considered. Subjects were pair matched according to sex and age and randomly assigned to two experimental groups: the supplemented group, which received 10 mg Zn/d, and the placebo group. Selected anthropometric, clinical, dietary, biochemical, and functional indexes were determined at the beginning of the study and after 6 and 14 mo of intervention. Actual dietary zinc intake was 66% of the recommended dietary allowance. Height gain after 14 mo was on average 0.5 cm higher in the supplemented group (P = 0.10). The response, however, was different between sexes. Boys from the supplemented group gained 0.9 cm more than those in the placebo group (P = 0.045). No effect was seen in girls. Although no significant differences were observed in the rest of the variables studied, trends (0.05 < P < 0.10) in the supplemented group compared with the placebo group for increased midarm muscle area in boys, improved response to tuberculin, and reduced rates of parasite reinfestation were noted. We conclude that in preschool children of low socioeconomic status, zinc is a limiting factor in the expression of growth potential.
BACKGROUND. Events in Chile provided an opportunity to evaluate health effects associated with exposure to high levels of social and political violence. METHODS. Neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile, were mapped for occurrences of sociopolitical violence during 1985-86, such as bomb threats, military presence, undercover surveillance, and political demonstrations. Six health centers providing prenatal care were then chosen at random: three from "high-violence" and three from "low-violence" neighborhoods. The 161 healthy, pregnant women due to deliver between August 1 and September 7, 1986, who attended these health centers were interviewed twice about their living conditions. Pregnancy complications and labor/delivery information were subsequently obtained from clinic and hospital records. RESULTS. Women living in the high-violence neighborhoods were significantly more likely to experience pregnancy complications than women living in lower violence neighborhoods (OR = 5.0; 95% CI = 1.9-12.6; p less than 0.01). Residence in a high-violence neighborhood was the strongest risk factor observed; results persisted after controlling for several sets of potential confounders. CONCLUSION. Living in areas of high social and political violence increased the risk of pregnancy complications among otherwise healthy women.
Objective: To determine the association of birth weight with obesity risk at first grade of high school in Chilean children after accounting for potential confounding factors. Design: National non-concurrent cohort of newborns. Sociodemographic information, height, weight and anthropometric measurements at first grade of high school were analysed. Birth weight was classified as macrosomia ($4000 g), by gestational age and by ponderal index. The relationship between birth weight and obesity at first grade of high school (BMI $ 95th percentile of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's reference) was assessed using logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic information at delivery. Setting: First grade of public high school of low and middle socio-economic status in the whole country (about 77 % of Chilean children in this age group). Subjects: Newborns (n 119 070) and the same number of high-school students. Results: A positive relationship of high ponderal index (OR 5 1?86, 95 % CI 1?69, 2?03), birth weight $4000 g (OR 5 1?66, 95 % CI 1?54, 1?78) and large for gestational age (OR 5 1?69, 95 % CI 1?58, 1?81) with obesity at adolescence (P , 0?001) was found. Macrosomic children had a higher risk of being obese at first grade of high school after controlling for prenatal confounding variables (OR 5 1?63, 95 % CI 1?52, 1?76; P , 0?001). Conclusions: A direct relationship between high birth weight and obesity at first grade of high school was observed in this group of Chilean children. The results highlight the significance of birth weight as a simple tool to be used as an indicator of obesity risk for children by health-care providers.
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