The article presents prevalence rates for malnutrition, intestinal parasitic infections, anemia, and iron deficiency in under-five children in a population-based cross-sectional survey performed in the urban area of two counties in the Western Brazilian Amazon, Assis Brasil (n = 200) and Acrelandia (n = 477). Available data included: (a) weight and height measurements, standardized as z-scores using the 1977 NCHS reference population, (b) diagnosis of current intestinal parasitic infection, (c) blood hemoglobin levels, and (d) plasma ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor levels. Overall prevalence rates of low weight-for-height, low weight-for-age, and low height-for-age were 3.7%, 8.7%, and 7.5%, respectively, with similar figures in the two towns. Intestinal parasites were detected in 32.5% children; helminths were uncommon. Anemia and iron deficiency were diagnosed in 30.6% and 43.5% of the children, respectively. Evidence of anemia was found in only 47.6% of the children with depleted iron reserves, indicating that hemoglobin measurement alone would severely underestimate the magnitude of iron deficiency in this population. In both towns, anemia and malnutrition were significantly more prevalent among children in the lowest socioeconomic stratum.

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of undernutrition, overweight and associated factors, before and after the implementation of the Interoceanic Highway.MethodsA population-based cross-sectional study on children under 5 years of age was conducted in the municipality of Assis Brasil, AC, Brazil, in 2003 and 2010. Prevalence of undernutrition was observed by using height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) and adopting a cut-off point equal to or lower than a -2 Z-score. Overweight prevalence was defined by a cut-off point equal to or greater than a +2 Z-score of the WHZ index. Z-scores were calculated relative to WHO 2006 reference data. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied to the children’s guardians, investigating family socio-economic and demographic characteristics, morbidities, access to services and child care. Associated factors were identified by hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of low HAZ (undernutrition) was 7.0% in 2003 and 12.2% in 2010. The prevalence of high WHZ (overweight) was 1.0% and 6.6% for 2003 and 2010, respectively. It was not possible to adjust the multiple model for the year 2003. The factors associated with low HAZ in 2010 were: wealth index, the situation of living with biological parents, maternal height and presence of open sewage, whereas the factors associated with a high WHZ in the same year were: child’s age, mother’s time of residence in the location, mother’s body mass index.ConclusionsOverweight increase within this undernutrition scenario reveals that the process of nutritional transition began in this Amazonian city only in the last decade, and therefore, it is delayed when compared to overweight in other parts of Brazil. Such nutritional transition in Assis Brasil may have been facilitated by the construction of the Interoceanic Highway.

Este estudo objetivou analisar a associação da força de preensão manual com morbidades referidas e multimorbidade em adultos de Rio Branco, Acre, Brasil, mediante inquérito de base populacional com 1.395 adultos de ambos os sexos. As associações, por sexo, foram estimadas com a técnica de regressão logística. A média de força de preensão manual nos homens (44,8kg) é maior que entre as mulheres (29kg) e reduz com a idade. A diferença da força de preensão manual média entre aqueles classificados como fortes e fracos foi 21kg e 15,5kg, para homens e mulheres, respectivamente. Controlando para a faixa etária, índice de massa corporal e atividade física quando relevante, homens com baixa força de preensão manual tiveram maiores chances de ocorrência de hipertensão [OR = 2,21 (1,35; 3,61)], diabetes [OR = 4,18 (1,35; 12,95)], distúrbio musculoesquelético [OR = 1,67 (1,07; 2,61)] e multimorbidade [OR = 1,99 (1,27; 3,12)]. Nas mulheres, associações entre força de preensão manual e evento cardiovascular, dislipidemia, distúrbio muscolesquelético e multimorbidade não se mantiveram nos modelos multivariados. Este estudo endossa o uso da força de preensão manual como biomarcador de saúde.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effects of using post-stratifi cation weight to correct the bias due to low coverage of households with telephones.

Objective:To estimate the prevalence of child undernutrition and associated factors in a municipality with high nutritional risk in Brazil. Methods: This cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted with a sample of 478 children aged under 5 years in the city of Jordão, Acre, Brazil. The following indicators were calculated: weight for age (W/A), height for age (H/A), and weight for height (W/H), using the growth curves of the WHO as reference, which adopts a cutoff of -2 z scores for identification of malnourished children. Adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) were obtained using multiple Poisson regression models with robust error estimate (p < 0.05). Results: A high prevalence of stunting (35.8%) was observed. Children with indigenous ancestry living in rural areas showed the highest prevalence of malnutrition (59.4%). After controlling for age, gender, and indigenous ancestry, the factors associated with stunting risk were: living in rural area (PR = 1.6; 95%CI 1.2 -2.1); lower tertile of household wealth index (PR = 1.6; 95%CI 1.1 -2.3); living in houses made of walking palm (PR = 1.6; 95%CI 1.1 -2.4); maternal height less than or equal to 146.4 cm (PR = 3.1; 95%CI 1.9 -5.0); and history of introduction of cow's milk before 30 days of age (PR = 1.4; 95%CI 1.0 -1.8). Children with updated vaccination cards were inversely associated with stunting risk (PR = 0.7; 95%CI 0.5 -0.9). Conclusion: Child undernutrition remains a serious public health problem in the Amazon, indicating additional difficulties in facing the problem in this region of the country.

BackgroundHepatitis A is still a neglected health problem in the world. The most affected areas are the ones with disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions. In Brazil, seroprevalence studies showed that 64.7 % of the general population has antibodies against HAV (hepatitis A virus), and the Amazon region has the highest seroprevalence in the country.MethodsIn the present study the seroprevalence of total HAV antibodies in children between 1 and 5 years old residing in the urban area of Assis Brasil, Acre was measured and spatial distribution of several socioeconomic inequities was evaluated.ResultsIn the year of 2011, seroprevalence rate was 16.66 %. Factors associated with having a positive serology identified by multivariate analysis were being of indigenous ethnicity [adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 3.27, CI 1.45–7.28], usage of water from the public system (aOR = 8.18, CI 1.07–62.53), living in a house not located in a street (aOR = 3.48, CI 1.54–7.87), and child age over 4 years old (aOR = 2.43, CI 1.23–4.79). The distribution of seropositive children was clustered in the eastern part of the city, where several socioeconomic inequities (lack of flushed toilets, lack of piped water inside the household and susceptibility of the household to flooding during rain, low maternal education, having wood or ground floor at home, and not owning a house, lack of piped water at home, and type of drinking water) also clustered.ConclusionsThe findings highlight that sanitation and water treatment still need improvement in the Brazilian Amazon, and that socioeconomic development is warranted in order to decrease this and other infectious diseases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1164-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the contributions of the socioeconomic, hygienic, and sanitation improvements in reducing the prevalence of diarrhea in a city of the Amazon.METHODS In this population-based cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from surveys conducted in the city of Jordão, Acre. In 2005 and 2012, these surveys evaluated, respectively, 466 and 826 children under five years old. Questionnaires were applied on the socioeconomic conditions, construction of houses, food and hygienic habits, and environmental sanitation. We applied Pearson’s Chi-squared test and Poisson regression to verify the relationship between origin of water, construction of homes, age of introduction of cow’s milk in the diet, place of birth and the prevalence of diarrhea.RESULTS The prevalence of diarrhea was reduced from 45.1% to 35.4%. We identified higher probability of diarrhea in children who did not use water from the public network, in those receiving cow’s milk in the first month after birth, and in those living in houses made of paxiúba. Children born at home presented lower risk of diarrhea when compared to those who were born in hospital, with this difference reversing for the 2012 survey.CONCLUSIONS Sanitation conditions improved with the increase of bathrooms with toilets, implementation of the Programa de Saúde da Família (PSF – Family Health Program), and water treatment in the city. The multivariate regression model identified a statistically significant association between use of water from the public network, construction of houses, late introduction of cow’s milk, and access to health service with occurrence of diarrhea.