Publications by authors named "Doak C"

The analysis of how biological shape changes across ontogeny can provide us with valuable information on how species adapt behaviorally, physiologically, and ecologically. The white shark Carcharodon carcharias is one of the largest and most widely distributed apex predators globally, yet an understanding of ontogenetic changes in body shape and relative scaling of length and weight measures is limited, especially in relation to foraging ecology. Through analysis of a suite of shape-related metrics, we identified ontogenetic patterns of scaling throughout development.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Objectives Since the 1990s, programs for the control of micronutrient deficiencies became a public health priority for many governments, including the countries partnering the project "Sustainable Micronutrient Interventions to Control Deficiencies and Improve Nutritional Status and General Health in Asia" (SMILING): Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos-PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. The aim of this study was to map which micronutrient deficiencies have been addressed and which interventions were in place in the SMILING countries. Methods The mapping covered the period up to 2012.

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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.

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Introduction Even though micronutrient deficiency is still a major public health problem, it is still unclear which interventions are most effective in improving micronutrient status. This review therefore aims to summarize the evidence published in systematic reviews on intervention strategies that aim at improving micronutrient status in children under the age of five. Methods We searched the literature and included systematic reviews that reported on micronutrient status as a primary outcome for children of 0-5 years old, had a focus on low or middle income countries.

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate associations between intestinal parasitic infection with intestinal and systemic inflammatory markers in school-aged children with high rates of obesity. Plasma concentrations of C-Reactive Protein (CRP), leptin, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 were measured as systemic inflammation markers and count of stool leukocytes as marker of intestinal inflammation in 291 children (6-10 years). Intestinal parasitic infection was measured by stool examination.

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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.

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Article Synopsis
  • Overweight and obesity rates are rising among low-income women in Guatemala, where there is also a significant issue of chronic under-nutrition (stunting) in children.
  • The study aimed to examine the simultaneous issue of under-nutrition in infants and children alongside maternal overweight and obesity in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.
  • Findings revealed high rates of stunting (38%) and maternal overweight/obesity (45%), but only 17% of mother-child pairs experienced both issues, indicating no significant influence of maternal weight status on the characteristics of stunted children, highlighting the need for targeted policies.
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Background: Intestinal parasites, virus and bacterial infections are positively associated with obesity and adiposity in vitro and in animal models, but conclusive evidence of this relationship in humans is lacking. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine differences in adiposity between infected and non-infected children, with a high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection and obesity.

Subjects: A total of 296 school-aged children (8.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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Article Synopsis
  • HIV stigma significantly impacts the lives of people living with HIV (PLWH) and those close to them, causing negative behavior and attitudes from the community, as well as self-judgment by PLWH.
  • The study explored differences in experiences between urban and rural settings in North-West, South Africa, through in-depth interviews with 23 PLWH.
  • Recommendations include community involvement in reducing stigma and improving support for PLWH, as disclosure issues and stigma negatively affect treatment and support efforts.
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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.

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We describe the implementation of a comprehensive HIV stigma-reduction and wellness-enhancement community intervention that focused on people living with HIV (PLWH), as well as people living close to them (PLC) from six designated groups. A holistic multiple case study design was used in urban and rural settings in the North West Province, South Africa. Purposive voluntary sampling was used to recruit the PLWH group; snowball sampling was used for the PLCs.

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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.

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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).

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