Cultural and medical perspectives on geophagia

Reid, Russell M.

doi:10.1080/01459740.1992.9966056

Cited by 98 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Evidence has been brought forward that soil can be a source of iron to anaemic and iron-deficient individuals (Johns & Duquette 1991;Reid 1992;Abrahams 1997). Geophagy may thus be a beneficial practice or even a 'palaeonutritonal necessity' (Ziegler 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geophagy, iron status and anaemia among primary school children in Western Kenya

Geissler

Mwaniki

Thiong'o

et al. 1998

Tropical Med Int Health

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SummaryAs part of a cross-sectional study among 156 primary school children (median age 13 years, range 10᎐18) in Western Kenya, geophagy was assessed through interviews. 114 (73.1%) of these children reported eating soil daily. Haemoglobin levels were determined in all 156 children and serum ferritin concentrations in 135. The mean haemoglobin (Hb) concentration was 12.7 g/dl, and median ferritin concentration 27.2 g/l. Both the proportion of anaemic (Hb Ͻ 11.0 g/dl) and of iron-depleted (ferritin Ͻ 12 g/l) children was significantly higher among the geophageous children than among the nongeophageous (9.6% vs. 0% anaemia; P ϭ 0.037; 18.4% vs. 5.4% iron depletion; P ϭ 0.046). Serum ferritin and haemoglobin concentrations were not correlated (r ϭ 0. 13 5; P ϭ 0. 100). Multiple regression analysis showed that geophagy, hookworm eggs per gram faeces and malaria parasite counts per l blood were independent predictors of serum ferritin, when controlling for other helminth infections, age and sex, and socio-economic and educational background of the children's families and family size (y ϭ 36.038᎐11.247(geophagy) ᎐ 0.010(hookworm epg) ϩ 0.001(malaria parasite counts); R 2 ϭ 0.17). Multiple regression analysis with haemoglobin as dependent variable and the same independent variables did not reveal any significant predictors. Analysis of the soil eaten by the children revealed a mean HCl-extractable iron content of 168.9 mg/kg (SD 44.9). Based on the data on the amounts eaten daily and this mean iron content, soil could provide on average 4.7 mg iron to a geophageous child (interquartile range 2.1᎐7.1 mg), which is equivalent to 32% of the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for girls (interquartile range 14᎐48%) or 42% of the RNI for boys (interquartile range 19᎐63%). Iron depletion and anaemia are associated with geophagy, but only serum ferritin concentrations were shown to be dependent upon geophagy in the regression model. From the cross-sectional data no inference about causality can be made. To clarify the possible causal relationships involved, longitudinal studies and iron-supplementation intervention studies are needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geophagy, iron status and anaemia among primary school children in Western Kenya

Geissler

Mwaniki

Thiong'o

et al. 1998

Tropical Med Int Health

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“…Research on geophagy has relied on a common-sense assumption that eating of dirt is detrimental to health. Because of this biased view, geophagy has rarely been studied in its own right and recent reviews underline the large number of open questions (Lacey 1990;Reid 1992). In spite of earlier calls to accept geophagy as an ordinary food habit (Vermeer 1971), it was only recently acknowledged as a normal human activity (Johns & Duquette 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geophagy among school children in Western Kenya

Geissler

Mwaniki

Thiong'o

et al. 1997

Tropical Med Int Health

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SummaryA cross-sectional study was conducted among 285 school children aged 5-18 years in Nyanza Province, Western Kenya, to determine the prevalence of geophagy and the types and amounts of soil eaten. Stool samples were taken from a subsample of 53 (19%) and their silica content determined to compare the results with the reported geophagy. Geophagy was practised by 73% of the children. The prevalence decreased with age for both sexes up to age 15, then remained stable for girls between 15 and 18 years but continued to decrease for boys in that age range.Most children ate soil from the surface of termitaria; others preferred the edges of paths and gullies, material from the wall of huts, and a chalk-like, soft stone commonly found in the area. The soil was eaten dry and was occasionally ground, but not processed in other ways. All but 4 of the children practising geophagy reported to eat soil at least once daily. The median amount reported eaten was 28 g daily, ranging from 8 to 108 g. The reported amount of soil eaten daily was significantly correlated to the results of the stool silica determinations. Using the median of 1% silica of faecal wet weight as a cut-off point to distinguish geophageous children from nongeophageous, the examination of a single stool sample had a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 80% to detect a geophageous child compared to the interview method.The cultural context of geophagy and its potential health impact in terms of infection and nutrition need to be further investigated, and it is suggested that more school and communitybased studies on geophagy in different societies should be undertaken.

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“…Ingestion of dirt or clay, also called pica, in response to toxicosis is a common phenomenon in animals and is also observed in humans (Reid, 1992;Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein, 2000;Engel, 2002;Kushner et al, 2004). Rats injected with toxins or subjected to motion consume non-nutritive clay (kaolin) that they would normally not ingest (Mitchell et al, 1977a;Takeda et al, 1993;Santucci et al, 2000;Saeki et al, 2001;Yamamoto et al, 2002a).…”

Section: Kaolin Ingestion (Pica)-mentioning

confidence: 99%

Signals for nausea and emesis: Implications for models of upper gastrointestinal diseases

Andrews

Horn

2006

Autonomic Neuroscience

220

201

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Nausea and vomiting are amongst the most common symptoms encountered in medicine as either symptoms of diseases or side effects of treatments. In a more biological setting they are also important components of an organism's defences against ingested toxins. Identification of treatments for nausea and vomiting and reduction of emetic liability of new therapies has largely relied on the use of animal models, and although such models have proven invaluable in identification of the anti-emetic effects of both 5-hydroxytryptamine3 and neurokinin1 receptor antagonists selection of appropriate models is still a matter of debate. The present paper focuses on a number of controversial issues and gaps in our knowledge in the study of the physiology of nausea and vomiting including: The choice of species for the study of emesis and the underlying behavioural (e.g. neophobia), anatomical (e.g. elongated, narrow abdominal oesophagus with reduced ability to shorten) and physiological (e.g. brainstem circuitry) mechanisms that explain the lack of a vomiting reflex in certain species (e.g. rats); The choice of response to measure (emesis[retching and vomiting], conditioned flavour avoidance or aversion, ingestion of clay [pica], plasma hormone levels[e.g. vasopressin], gastric dysrhythmias) and the relationship of these responses to those observed in humans and especially to the sensation of nausea; The stimulus coding of nausea and emesis by abdominal visceral afferents and especially the vagus-how do the afferents encode information for normal postprandial sensations, nausea and finally vomiting?; Understanding the central processing of signals for nausea and vomiting is particularly problematic in the light of observations that vomiting is more readily amenable to pharmacological treatment than is nausea, despite the assumption that nausea represents "low" intensity activation of pathways that can evoke vomiting when stimulated more intensely.

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Cultural and medical perspectives on geophagia

Cited by 98 publications

References 48 publications

Geophagy, iron status and anaemia among primary school children in Western Kenya

Geophagy, iron status and anaemia among primary school children in Western Kenya

Geophagy among school children in Western Kenya

Signals for nausea and emesis: Implications for models of upper gastrointestinal diseases

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