Red Blood Cell Folate Insufficiency among nonpregnant Women of Childbearing age in Guatemala 2009 to 2010: Prevalence and predicted Neural Tube Defects risk.

Background: The World Health Organization recently released recommendations stating that red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations should be above 400 ng/L (906 nmol/L) for optimal prevention of folate-sensitive neural tube defects (NTDs). The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of folate insufficiency (FI) (<906 nmol/L) and potential risk of NTDs based on RBC folate concentrations among nonpregnant women of child-bearing age in Guatemala.

Methods: A national and regional multistage cluster probability survey was completed during 2009 to 2010 among Guatemalan women of child-bearing age 15 to 49 years of age.

Folate and Vitamin B12 Deficiency Among Non-pregnant Women of Childbearing-Age in Guatemala 2009-2010: Prevalence and Identification of Vulnerable Populations.

Introduction: Information on folate and vitamin B12 deficiency rates in Guatemala is essential to evaluate the current fortification program. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies among women of childbearing age (WCBA) in Guatemala and to identify vulnerable populations at greater risk for nutrient deficiency.

Methods: A multistage cluster probability study was designed with national and regional representation of nonpregnant WCBA (15-49 years of age).

Setting research priorities for preconception care in low- and middle-income countries: aiming to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity.

Sohni Dean and colleagues report their CHNRI exercise that developed health research priorities for effective pre-conception care in low- and middle-income countries.

Preconception health assessment in China, Lebanon and the Philippines: applicability to other countries.

To test the utility of a preconception checklist tool in identifying preconception health needs of women in three countries; China, Lebanon and the Philippines. An academic medical center within each country participated in the development and testing of a preconception checklist tool, which was administered over a 6 month period to selected target groups in each country. The checklist provided valuable data on the preconception health of 6,530 women.

An international surgical exchange program for children with cleft lip/cleft palate in Manaus, Brazil: patient and family expectations of outcome.

Increasingly, surgeons are traveling from the developed to the developing world to volunteer their services. They can often make an enormous difference in the lives of patients they serve, but they must understand that these patients exist in a sociocultural matrix in which the meaning of the condition they have and the future they face are determined by a host of factors over and above the specific surgery itself. This means that programs in which teams quickly go in and out of a country must take into account and plan for longer term follow-up by colleagues within that country as well as develop and target rehabilitation services and educational messages to ensure maximum benefits from the intervention performed.