The combination of UMA, UFA, UAMAH and conventional nutritional indices appear to be useful for assessment of child under-nutrition.

No abstract

There is a close association between human biology, epidemiology and public health. Exposure to toxic elements is one area of such associations and global concerns. The Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) is a region where contamination of ground water by arsenic has assumed epidemic proportions. Apart from dermatological manifestations, chronic exposure to arsenic causes a heavy toll through several carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic disorders. This article provides a global overview of groundwater arsenic contamination in the BDP region, especially the sources, speciation, and mobility of arsenic, and critically reviews the effects of arsenic on human health. The present review also provides a summary of comprehensive knowledge on various measures required for mitigation and social consequences of the problem of arsenic contaminated groundwater in the BDP region.

Background: Stunting, wasting and under-weight have been conventionally utilized to assess the prevalence of under-nutrition among children. As these indices grossly underestimate this prevalence mainly due to overlapping of the children into multiple categories of anthropometric failure, there is a need for an appropriate single measure to assess this prevalence and identify the more susceptible individuals. The present study tries to ascertain whether the use of the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) is more appropriate than the conventional indices for the estimation of under-nutrition among children. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was undertaken to compare the prevalence of under-nutrition using both the conventional indices and the CIAF among 1143 children aged between 5 years to 11 years (565 boys; 578 girls) belonging to the Bengalee Muslim Population (BMP), and residing in the district of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. The children were selected using a multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure. The data was collected during the period from February 2009 to May 2010. Height and weight of the children were recorded using standard procedures. The conventional anthropometric indices and the CIAF were compared with the National Center for Health Statistics reference data to determine the prevalence of under-nutrition. A child having a value 2SD’s below that of the reference median in any of these indices was classified as suffering from under-nutrition. All the necessary approvals and consents were obtained from the Gram Panchayets and school authorities, and the study was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines for human experiments as laid down in the Helsinki Declaration of 2000. Results: Using the conventional indices, the prevalence of under-nutrition was observed to be 17.4% (wasting), 38.5% (stunting) and 47.0% (under-weight). However, with the use of the CIAF, this prevalence increased to 57.6% and included both single and multiple anthropometric failures. The prevalence of CIAF was observed to be higher among boys (60.4%) than girls (54.8%), although the differences were not statistically significant (chi-value = 0.96; d.f. 1, p> 0.05). Using the conventional indices too, boys were more affected than girls (stunting: chi-value = 0.20; d.f. 1, p> 0.05; wasting: chi-value = 1.94; d.f. 1, p> 0.05; under-weight: chi-value = 2.81; d.f. 1, p> 0.05). Conclusions: It is concluded that under-nutrition among BMP children is a serious health issue. According to our results, the majority of these childrenaged between 5 and 11 years were under-weight, followed by stunting and wasting. The use of the CIAF increased this prevalence. The potential advantage and appropriateness of using CIAF over conventional indices for evaluating child under-nutrition is discussed. Further studies are recommended for the comprehensive understanding of the scenario of under-nourishment in different Indian populations using CIAF. Nutritional intervention programmes are necessary to improve the nutritional status of the children covered in course of this study.

The tribal population (8.6%) is vulnerable to neonatal mortality and morbidity in India. Birth weight is an important decisive factor for most neonatal survival and postnatal development. The present study aims to compare the prevalence and associations of certain socio-economic, demographic, and lifestyle variables with low birth weight (LBW) among tribal and non-tribal populations in India. The present investigation utilized retrospective data of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4, 2015–16) among tribal (N=26635) and non-tribal (N=142162) populations in India. Birth weight variation of the newborn was categorized into LBW (<2500 gm) and NBW (≥2500 gm). ANOVA, chi-square (χ2) analysis, and binary logistic regression (BLR) were applied using SPSS (version 16.0). The prevalence of LBW was higher in non-tribal (17.2%) than tribal (13.5%), and the population-specific birth weight was significantly higher in tribal than non-tribal population (p<0.01). Higher tribal population concentration (47.0%) areas has a lower (7.4%) prevalence of LBW in the northeast zone, whereas greater non-tribal population concentration (27.1%) areas was found higher in the central zone (19.2%). The BLR analysis showed that rural habitat, lower educational attainment, lack of own sanitary toilet facility, a lower wealth index, absence of electricity, high pollutant fuel exposure, Hindu and Muslim religion, elevated maternal age at first birth, maternal anemia as well as home delivery of newborn have greater odds for LBW (p<0.05). In India, tribal populations are vulnerable and marginalised; their birth weight is significantly higher than that of non-tribals, and they have a lower prevalence of LBW and higher female birth rates. Mother’s socio-economic status and perceptions towards hygiene and better lifestyles acquired by educational upliftment positively affect the birth weight of the newborn in both the tribal and non-tribal population in India.