Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Bulletin of the World Health Organization logoLink to Bulletin of the World Health Organization
. 1992;70(5):637–643.

Determinants of child nutrition and mortality in north-west Uganda.

V Vella 1, A Tomkins 1, A Borghesi 1, G B Migliori 1, B C Adriko 1, E Crevatin 1
PMCID: PMC2393364  PMID: 1464151

Abstract

An anthropometric survey of children aged 0-59 months in north-west Uganda in February-March 1987 indicated a high prevalence of stunting but little wasting. Use of unprotected water supplies in the dry season, prolonged breast-feeding, and age negatively affected nutrition; in contrast, parental education level improved nutrition. Mortality during the 12 months following the survey was higher among those who had low weight-for-age and weight-for-height, but children who had low height-for-age did not have higher mortality. Weight-for-age was the most sensitive predictor of mortality at specificities > 88%, while at lower specificity levels weight-for-height was the most sensitive. Children whose fathers' work was associated with the distillation of alcohol had a higher risk of mortality than other children. The lowest mortality was among children whose fathers were businessmen or who grew tobacco.

Full text

PDF
643

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alam N., Wojtyniak B., Rahaman M. M. Anthropometric indicators and risk of death. Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 May;49(5):884–888. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/49.5.884. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ashworth A. Growth rates in children recovering from protein-calorie malnutrition. Br J Nutr. 1969 Nov;23(4):835–845. doi: 10.1079/bjn19690094. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brakohiapa L. A., Yartey J., Bille A., Harrison E., Quansah E., Armar M. A., Kishi K., Yamamoto S. Does prolonged breastfeeding adversely affect a child's nutritional status? Lancet. 1988 Aug 20;2(8608):416–418. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)90411-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Briend A., Wojtyniak B., Rowland M. G. Arm circumference and other factors in children at high risk of death in rural Bangladesh. Lancet. 1987 Sep 26;2(8561):725–728. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(87)91084-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chen L. C., Chowdhury A., Huffman S. L. Anthropometric assessment of energy-protein malnutrition and subsequent risk of mortality among preschool aged children. Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 Aug;33(8):1836–1845. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/33.8.1836. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hobcraft J. N., McDonald J. W., Rutstein S. O. Socio-economic factors in infant and child mortality: a cross-national comparison. Popul Stud (Camb) 1984 Jul;38:193–223. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kielmann A. A., McCord C. Weight-for-age as an index of risk of death in children. Lancet. 1978 Jun 10;1(8076):1247–1250. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(78)92478-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Smedman L., Sterky G., Mellander L., Wall S. Anthropometry and subsequent mortality in groups of children aged 6-59 months in Guinea-Bissau. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Aug;46(2):369–373. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/46.2.369. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Victora C. G., Vaughan J. P., Martines J. C., Barcelos L. B. Is prolonged breast-feeding associated with malnutrition? Am J Clin Nutr. 1984 Feb;39(2):307–314. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/39.2.307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Bulletin of the World Health Organization are provided here courtesy of World Health Organization

RESOURCES