Obesity in schoolchildren

In 1971 triceps skinfold thickness was measured in a sample of 6-14-year-old children attending school in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The sample consisted of 1,243 boys and 1,183 girls. In both boys and girls triceps skinfolds tended to increase with age, this being most marked in the girls. If a 25 mm triceps skinfold is taken as indicating obesity, then 32·4% of the 14-year old girls and 3·6% of the 14-year-old boys would be classified as obese. Comparison with the findings of the 1959 study of London schoolchildren suggests that obesity in 14-year-old girls has become more prevalent.     

Prevalence of pathogenic intestinal parasites among Saudi rural schoolchildren

A national survey was carried out in 1991 to assess the prevalenceof pathogenic intestinal parasites in rural Saudi Arabian schoolchildrenaged 6–18 years. Nine thousand eight hundred and eighty-onechildren underwent a clinical evaluation and stool specimenswere examined, using direct microscopy. Intestinal pathogenicparasites were found in 2, 233 (22.6%) children. The major parasitesisolated were Giardia lamblia (13.5%), Schistosoma mansoni (3.8%),Entamoeba histolytica (2.5%), Hymenolepis nana (2.5%), Ascarislumbricoides (2.0%) and Entrobius vermicularis (1.0%). Prevalenceof intestinal parasites was significantly associated with thechild's age, sex, father's educational level, non-public watersupply and inadequate latrine type. The highest risk group waschildren 6–8 years old, whose father were illiterate andhad no latrine.     

Pediculosis capitis among rural and urban schoolchildren in Nigeria

The prevalence of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) was investigated among urban and rural schoolchildren in Ibadan City and three surrounding villages all in Southern Nigeria. 106 (5.7%) of 1860 urban schoolchildren examined were infested compared with only seven (1.5%) of 473 children from rural schools (P less than 0.05). Pediculosis appears to be an urban problem which may be associated with overcrowding. However, the intensity of head louse infestation was low among the urban schoolchildren with 74.6% of all lousy children harbouring one to five lice per head and only 6.0% with more than 30 lice per head.     

Breakfast food patterns among urban and rural Croatian schoolchildren

The aim of this study was to report breakfast food patterns among the rural and urban Croatian schoolchildren in the post-war socioeconomic changes. A quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire was used. Subjects were 7-18 year old schoolchildren (815 from urban and 375 from rural areas). The average energy intake was 27.5 and 23.0% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) in the urban and rural area respectively. Urban subjects tend to choose healthier options when older, while the rural subjects displayed the opposite (significantly correlated age with energy intake (% RDA) and dietary fibre intake (% of 'age + 5' rule). The same applied to age versus iron intake (urban positive, rural negative correlation). Breakfasts providing 20-30% RDA for energy and more than 300 mg of calcium were consumed by 20.7 and 32.4% of the urban and rural subjects respectively. Cereal products and milk and dairy products were the major breakfast constituents everywhere. Meat and its products, and eggs seem to be uncommon breakfast foods. The urban subjects had a more adequate energy intake at breakfast, but better food choices were observed among rural subjects.     

The burden of polyparasitism among primary schoolchildren in rural and farming areas in Zimbabwe

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Zimbabwe among 1303 primary schoolchildren from a rural (53.3%) and a commercial farming area (46.7%) to determine the prevalence of co-infection by helminths and Plasmodium falciparum. Urine was examined on three successive days using the filtration method. Two stool specimens were processed using the Kato-Katz method and a third specimen was processed using the sedimentation method. Plasmodium falciparum was diagnosed from thick blood films. The prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium in the rural and farming areas was 66.8% and 52.3%, respectively, and for S. mansoni the prevalence was 12.4% and 22.7%, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum, hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura occurred only in the farming area, with a prevalence of 27.9%, 23.7%, 2.1%, 2.3%, respectively. Co-infection and triple infection with schistosomes, P. falciparum and soil-transmitted helminths occurred in the commercial farming area only. Hookworm and S. mansoni infections were associated with P. falciparum malaria (P<0.001, OR=2.48, 95% CI 1.56-3.93 and P=0.005, OR=1.85, 95% CI 1.20-2.87, respectively). Overlap of helminths with malaria is a concern among primary schoolchildren and incorporating helminth control in programmes aiming to control malaria will improve funding and increase the efficiency of control for neglected tropical diseases in identified co-endemic settings.     

Nutritional status of schoolchildren in rural Iran

The present study compared the nutritional status of schoolchildren from recently settled, ethnic minority tribespeople with those from a Persian village in southern Iran. Height and weight were measured and blood was collected from school children at three time points over 1.5 years. Supplemental Fe was provided to children with low Hb after the first screening. Twenty-one per cent of the children were wasted, 57 % were stunted and 23 % were anaemic. No statistically significant difference in the prevalence of wasting, stunting and anaemia was found between gender or ethnic groups. Children over the age of 12 years had a higher prevalence of wasting than children aged below 12 years. In a sub-sample of forty-one children the average BMI-for-age decreased. Fe supplementation increased Hb levels to normal in most children, but did not increase Fe level in a few children. Dietary deficiency of micronutrients, especially Zn and Fe, probably accounts for the high prevalence of stunting and anaemia in these children. Infection with Helicobacter pylori is another possible explanation for the Fe-deficiency anaemia. Further investigation is in progress to determine the cause(s) of the observed deficiencies.     

The characteristics of morphofunctional status of rural schoolchildren

The authors made a complex evaluation of the physical development of 7-16-year-old rural schoolchildren from a large administrative territorial entity and developed age-gender-related standards, by using the percentile technique. There were significant morphofunctional differences between the urban and rural schoolchildren at the present stage of a secular trend, which determines the necessity of developing the physical development standards for rural children and adolescents in order to correctly interpret the data on their health status.     

Laboratory study of trachoma in Egyptian rural schoolchildren

Cytological preparations from the conjunctiva of schoolchildren were examined by Giemsa staining and by an indirect fluorescent antibody (FA) technique. In addition, chlamydial group-specific antibodies in sera were measured with the complement fixation (CF) test. It has consistently been shown that the FA technique is more sensitive than Giemsa staining for the cytological demonstration of intracytoplasmic inclusions in conjunctival cells from trachoma patients, but reports differ regarding the degree of its superiority. The present study confirmed that the FA technique is more sensitive. Furthermore, the demonstration of intracytoplasmic inclusions by the FA technique correlated to a high degree with the intensity of the clinical signs of trachoma. With chlamydial (bedsonial) group antigen, the CF test yielded positive results in only a small proportion of cases. However, in areas where the disease is hyperendemic, a standardized CF test may show a correlation of positive results with the intensity of clinical signs. This is the case in the present study when low CF titres are considered as positive. The CF test may thus provide useful laboratory support for comparative studies of trachoma in large population groups.     

Similar secondary stroke prevention and medication persistence rates among rural and urban patients

Purpose: Rural residents are less likely to obtain optimal care for many serious conditions and have poorer health outcomes than those residing in more urban areas. We determined whether rural vs urban residence affected postdischarge medication persistence and 1 year outcomes after stroke. Methods: The Adherence eValuation After Ischemic Stroke‐Longitudinal (AVAIL) study is a multicenter registry of stroke patients enrolled in 101 hospitals nationwide. Medications were recorded at hospital discharge and again after 3 and 12 months. Persistence was defined as continuation of prescribed discharge medications. Participants were categorized as living in rural or urban settings by cross‐referencing home ZIP code with metropolitan statistical area (MSA) designation. Findings: Rural patients were younger, more likely to be white, married, smokers, and less likely to be college graduates. There was no difference in stroke type or working status compared to urban patients, and there were minor differences in comorbid conditions. There were no differences based on rural vs urban residence in medication persistence at 3 or 12 months postdischarge and no differences in outcomes of recurrent stroke or rehospitalization at 12 months. Conclusion: Despite differences in patient characteristics, there was no difference in medication persistence or outcomes between rural and urban dwellers after hospitalization for ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).     

Obesity among working age adults: the role of county-level persistent poverty in rural disparities

Little research has investigated the relationship between county-level poverty and obesity rates. We examined the factors related to obesity among residents of Rural Persistent Poverty counties, finding that these counties had a larger proportion of obese residents (34.5%) than Other Rural (28.4%) or Urban counties (24.9%). In adjusted analysis, the statistically significant association between persistent poverty and obesity was attenuated. Both individual characteristics (race, age) and county-level food availability and access factors were found to be significantly related to obesity. Improved access to quality food may be beneficial to residents of impoverished areas.