Profile of Children with Undernutrition Admitted in Two Secondary-Level Hospitals in Maputo City, Mozambique.

Mozambique has one of the highest child undernutrition rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to characterize the profile of children from 1 to 14 years old hospitalized for undernutrition and to explore associated risk factors. Clinical, demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental data were collected.

Dietary Energy Density Is Associated with Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases-A Cross-Sectional Study of School-Aged Children in Rural Mexico.

Background: Dietary energy density (DED) is associated with chronic disease markers in adults. However, results in children are still controversial.

Objective: To evaluate the DED of children and its association with obesity and biomarkers of chronic disease.

Association between Intestinal Parasite Infections and Proxies for Body Composition: A Scoping Review.

It has long been recognized that intestinal parasite infections and undernutrition are closely linked. However, little is known about the role of intestinal parasite infections (IPIs), or parasite clearance, in these processes. The aim of this scoping review was to summarize published evidence on the association between IPIs and body composition.

Proximity and High Density of Convenience Stores Was Associated With Obesity in Children of a Rural Community of Mexico: Using a Geographic Information System Approach.

Background: Food environment (FE) has been linked to obesity in urban areas, but there is limited information in rural areas, particularly in developing countries, where prevalence of obesity is high.

Objective: To determine the association between FE and childhood obesity using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Methods: A total of 218 (8-10 years) children participated in a cross-sectional study.

Ascariasis, Amebiasis and Giardiasis in Mexican children: distribution and geographical, environmental and socioeconomic risk factors.

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the geographical distribution of Ascariasis, Amebiasis and Giardiasis, and to identify specific geographical, socioeconomic and environmental factors that are associated with the incidence of these infections in Mexican children. We made use of publicly available data that was reported by federal organizations in Mexico for the year 2010. The contribution of geographical, socioeconomic and environmental factors to the incidence of infections was assessed by a multivariable regression model using a backwards selection procedure.

Several problem nutrients are identified in the complementary diet of 6 to 11 month old breastfed children in Western Guatemala.

Background And Objectives: The failure of infants in developing countries to meet nutrient intake recommendations is well documented. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional adequacy and identify problem nutrients of the diets of Guatemalan infants with continued breastfeeding.

Methods And Study Design: A single previous-day dietary recall was collected from a convenience sample of 94 mothers of infants aged 6-11 mo attending a public health clinic in the urban area of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Microbiome, growth retardation and metabolism: are they related?

Context: Despite an improvement in food security and the delivery of nutritional supplements to children living in impoverished parts of the world, poor growth is still highly prevalent. Given that the microbiome is related to both nutrient absorption, as well as overweight/obesity, it may play a central role in limiting or modifying normal growth processes while contributing to chronic disease risks.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to describe normal growth processes, the role of the microbiome in supporting or disrupting normal growth processes, and its potential impact on long-term health.

The stunted child with an overweight mother as a growing public health concern in resource-poor environments: a case study from Guatemala.

Background: Overweight and obesity are emerging at alarming rates in low income women in many countries. Guatemala has the additional burden of a high prevalence of chronic under-nutrition (stunting) in children.

Aim: The purpose of this paper is to explore the dual burden of infant and child (5-23 months) under-nutrition and maternal over-weight and obesity in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.

Energy contribution from non-breastmilk items in low-income Guatemalan infants in their sixth month of life.

Objective: To examine the nature and energy contribution of complementary feeding in breastfed infants in their sixth month of life, and the prevalence of the use of bottles as a delivery method.

Materials And Methods: We recruited 156 breastfeeding infants at a health clinic in metropolitan Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. A previous-day recall was performed.

Stunting at birth: recognition of early-life linear growth failure in the western highlands of Guatemala.

Objective: Measurements of length at birth, or in the neonatal period, are challenging to obtain and often discounted for lack of validity. Hence, classical 'under-5' stunting rates have been derived from surveys on children from 6 to 59 months of age. Guatemala has a high prevalence of stunting (49.

Height, zinc and soil-transmitted helminth infections in schoolchildren: a study in Cuba and Cambodia.

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections and zinc deficiency are often found in low- and middle-income countries and are both known to affect child growth. However, studies combining data on zinc and STH are lacking. In two studies in schoolchildren in Cuba and Cambodia, we collected data on height, STH infection and zinc concentration in either plasma (Cambodia) or hair (Cuba).

Challenges in the elaboration of a field interview instrument to capture information for the evaluation of adherence to the WHO/PAHO Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Child.

Background: In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published "Guiding principles for complementary feeding of the breastfed child," which includes a series of 10 recommendations.

Objective: To illustrate the challenges in creating operative criteria for the evaluation of concordance with the tenets of the WHO/PAHO Guiding Principles recommendations.

Methods: We set out to define operative criteria for the evaluation of adherence to the tenets of the WHO/PAHO Guiding Principles.

HIV stigma and disclosure experiences of people living with HIV in an urban and a rural setting.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a highly stigmatised condition for people living with HIV (PLWH) and people living close to them (PLC) globally. The research objectives for this study were to explore and describe how HIV stigma and disclosure experiences impact the lives of PLWH and to explore whether there are differences between experiences in urban and rural settings. A qualitative approach was followed and participants were selected through purposive voluntary sampling.

Feeding patterns before 6 months of age: the relative validity of recall from interviews of mothers of Guatemalan infants and toddlers.

The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 mo of life; however, deviations from this recommendation are widespread. The objective of the current study was to evaluate exclusive and predominant breastfeeding rates, as defined by the WHO, in a cross-sectional sample of Guatemalan children using retrospective records on the temporal pattern of introducing foods and beverages before 6 mo. Mothers of 150 infants, aged 6 to 23 mo, attending a public health clinic were interviewed about early life feeding practices with a structured questionnaire.

Helminth infections and micronutrients in school-age children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Helminth infections and micronutrient deficiencies are highly prevalent in developing countries. Neither condition typically causes overt disease, but they do lead to indirect morbidity such as impaired physical and cognitive development.

Objective: We aimed to systematically review current evidence on the relation of helminth infections with micronutrient status in school-age children worldwide.

Obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors among the indigenous and immigrant Pakistani population: a systematic review.

Aim: The aim of this study was to systematically describe the gender and ethnic differences regarding the prevalence of general/central obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia among the indigenous and immigrant Pakistani communities.

Methods: The search engine used was PubMed, supplemented with regional data from the Medical Institutes of Pakistan. The focus was on the adult Pakistani population (18 years and older).

Estimates of exclusive breastfeeding rates among mother-infant dyads in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, vary according to interview method and time frame.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding, defined as receiving only breastmilk, through the first 6 months of life to optimize survival, health, and development.

Objective: To assess exclusive and predominant breastfeeding rates, as defined by WHO, in a sample of Guatemalan infants using three dietary assessment methods.

Methods: Mothers of 156 infants (78 boys and 78 girls) in the 6th month of life, attending a public health center in Quetzaltenango, an urban area located in the Highlands of Guatemala, were recruited.

Breastfeeding and food pattern in overweight children in the Caribbean.

Background: As in most countries around the globe, overweight and obesity are a major threat to public health on the Caribbean island of Aruba. Increasing evidence confirms that breastfeeding protects against overweight and obesity. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying the association between breastfeeding and obesity.

Stunting rates in infants and toddlers born in metropolitan Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Objective: Guatemala has the highest prevalence of stunting (54% of children under age 5 years) in the Americas and the fifth highest in the world. The aim of this study was to describe the stunting prevalence and the association with early feeding practices, morbidity patterns, and socioeconomic status (SES) in a sample of infants and toddlers from urban Quetzaltenango.

Methods: We recruited 299 children (149 boys), ages 6-23 mo from two public health clinics in metropolitan Quetzaltenango.

Highland Guatemalan women are extremely short of stature, and no lactation duration effects on body composition are observed in a cross-sectional survey.

Early linear growth in Guatemala has historically been compromised, resulting in adults of short stature. We hypothesized that the rate of short stature among mothers in the Western Highlands would have tracked from their own childhood when younger than 5 years, and that maternal weight declines progressively from delivery through lactation. Maternal weight and height were collected in 542 lactating mothers of infant and toddlers, ranging in age from 15 to 48 years, with subsequent classification of mothers for short stature (relative to the 1977 World Health Organization/National Center for Health Statistics growth curves) and for underweight (body mass index [BMI], <18.

Earlier introduction of aguitas is associated with higher risk of stunting in infants and toddlers in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.

Background: In many cultures, simple herbal infusions, thin gruels, or sweetened water (agüitas in Guatemalan parlance) are given to infants and toddlers. Formative research has shown that the use of agüitas in early child feeding is deeply embedded in Guatemalan culture.

Objective: We examined the prevalence and timing of the introduction of agüitas during early life in a low-income population of metropolitan Quetzaltenango in relation to stunting in children.

The association of 25(OH)D with blood pressure, pulse pressure and carotid-radial pulse wave velocity in African women.

High susceptibility of the African population to develop cardiovascular disease obliges us to investigate possible contributing risk factors. Our aim was to determine whether low 25(OH)D status is associated with increased blood pressure and carotid-radial pulse wave velocity in black South African women. We studied 291 urban women (mean age: 57.