Effects of psychosocial stimulation on improving home environment and child-rearing practices: results from a community-based trial among severely malnourished children in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Parenting programmes are effective in enhancing parenting practices and child development. This study evaluated the effects of a intervention with psychosocial stimulation (PS) on the quality of the home environment and mothers' child-rearing practices in a community-based trial with severely malnourished Bangladeshi children. METHOD: Severely underweight children (n = 507), 6-24 months of age, were randomly assigned to five groups: PS; food supplementation (FS); PS + FS; clinic-control (CC); and, hospital-control (CH). PS included fortnightly follow-up visits for six months at community clinics where a play leader demonstrated play activities and gave education on child development and child rearing practices. FS comprised cereal-based supplements (150-300 kcal/day) for three months. All groups received medical care, micronutrient supplements and growth monitoring. Mothers were given the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory and a questionnaire on parenting at baseline and after six months to assess the outcome. RESULTS: 322 children completed the study. After six months of intervention the PS + FS and PS groups benefitted in the total HOME score (depending on the comparison group, effect sizes varied from 0.66 to 0.33 SD) The PS + FS and PS groups also benefitted in two HOME subscales: maternal involvement (effect sizes: 0.8 to 0.55 SD) and play materials, (effect sizes: 0.46 to 0.6 SD), and child-rearing practices scores (effect size: 1.5 to 1.1 SD). The PS + FS group benefitted 4.0 points in total HOME score compared with CH, 4.8 points compared with CC and 4.5 points compared with FS (p < 0.001 for all). The PS group benefitted 2.4 points compared with CH (p = 0.035), 3.3 points compared with CC (p = 0.004), and 2.9 points compared with FS (p = 0.006). Child-rearing practice scores of the PS + FS group improved 7.7, 6.4 and 6.6 points and the PS group improved 8.5, 7.2 and 7.4 points more than CH, CC and FS, respectively (p < 0.001 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Child-rearing practices of mothers of severely malnourished children and the quality of their home environment can be improved through community-based psychosocial stimulation with or without food supplementation. This may be of importance to promote child development.     

Benefits and risks of long-term low-dose oral continuous combined hormone therapy

OBJECTIVES: Current recommendations for hormone therapy (HT) are mainly based on findings from studies using standard dose regimens in older women who had a different health profile from those who start HT soon after the onset of menopause. METHODS: We, therefore, reviewed controlled trials assessing the efficacy, safety and tolerability of low-dose oral continuous combined HT (cc-HT) started for treatment of climacteric symptoms. This review is limited to oral cc-HT regimens over sequential regimens as most postmenopausal women prefer not to have a return of uterine bleeding, and to studies of at least 2 years in duration. RESULTS: Low-dose cc-HT is effective in alleviating climacteric symptoms and in maintaining bone density over prolonged periods, although no data were available regarding fracture risk. No increased risk of coronary heart disease, venous thrombo-embolism or stroke during the use of low-dose cc-HT was reported in the long-term studies and no definitive evidence for an increased risk of breast cancer was found. Breakthrough bleeding during the first months of use is less common than with standard dose HT and amenorrhoea is achieved in most women over time. These regimens are safe for the endometrium and are well tolerated, with a low incidence of adverse events compared with standard doses. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence from controlled trials indicates that low-dose oral cc-HT appears effective and safe. This makes it a good choice for the alleviation of climacteric symptoms, and for this purpose long-term administration of low-dose cc-HT does not seem to impose serious health risks. However, more long-term study data and direct head-to-head comparisons between various low-dose preparations are needed to support or rectify the safety aspects.     

An Immunoenzyme Procedure for Enumerating Fibronectin-Secreting Cells

A recently described solid phase immunoenzyme procedure (ELISPOT) has been adapted for the detection of individual cells secreting fibronectin. Simple and sensitive, this technique should find useful application for studying fibronectin production at the cellular level.     

Peri-implant mucosal level in patients treated with implant-supported fixed prostheses: a 1-year follow-up study

PURPOSE: The purpose of this follow-up study was to quantify the change in the peri-implant mucosal level after treatment of edentulous patients with fixed prostheses on osseointegrated endosseous implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients were included in the study: 10 were treated in the maxilla, and 10 were treated in the mandible. Both groups had fixed prostheses on osseointegrated Br?nemark implants. Peri-implant mucosal level was measured with a calibrated probe after removal of the prostheses at the 1-year follow-up. These measurements were compared to those made on the original master casts. RESULTS: A larger mean retraction (-) was observed in the mandible (-1.6 mm) compared to the maxilla (-0.8 mm), but there was great variation. The individual values varied from -4.5 to +1.0 mm in the mandible and from -6.0 to +6.0 mm in the maxilla. CONCLUSION: Peri-implant soft tissue recession occurs during the first year in edentulous jaws after treatment with implant-supported fixed prostheses and more so in the maxilla than the mandible.     

Tissue Doppler, a fundamental tool for parametric imaging

Tissue Doppler has been used for clinical applications since 1989. It has been developed from a pulsed Doppler acquisition tool towards a method where extraction of velocities can be performed from colour-coded images. This has introduced a further development into different forms of parametric images describing different myocardial functions as colour-coded information, like deformation imaging, motion imaging and phase imaging. The technical requirements have been established with temporal requirements of frame rates in acquisition exceeding 100 frames s(-1). The most powerful application of the tissue Doppler technique today is perhaps to quantify the myocardial functional reserve, during stress echocardiography, making the method applicable to diagnose the presence of coronary disease with an accuracy exceeding that of nuclear and other non-invasive techniques. The method has also great potential for future developments with introduction of more regional measuring variables.     

A community-based randomized controlled trial of iron and zinc supplementation in Indonesian infants: effects on growth and development

BACKGROUND: Deficiencies of iron and zinc are associated with delayed development, growth faltering, and increased infectious-disease morbidity during infancy and childhood. Combined iron and zinc supplementation may therefore be a logical preventive strategy. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to compare the effects of combined iron and zinc supplementation in infancy with the effects of iron and zinc as single micronutrients on growth, psychomotor development, and incidence of infectious disease. DESIGN: Indonesian infants (n = 680) were randomly assigned to daily supplementation with 10 mg Fe (Fe group), 10 mg Zn (Zn group), 10 mg Fe and 10 mg Zn (Fe+Zn group), or placebo from 6 to 12 mo of age. Anthropometric indexes, developmental indexes (Bayley Scales of Infant Development; BSID), and morbidity were recorded. RESULTS: At 12 mo, two-factor analysis of variance showed a significant interaction between iron and zinc for weight-for-age z score, knee-heel length, and BSID psychomotor development. Weight-for-age z score was higher in the Zn group than in the placebo and Fe+Zn groups, knee-heel length was higher in the Zn and Fe groups than in the placebo group, and the BSID psychomotor development index was higher in the Fe group than in the placebo group. No significant effect on morbidity was found. CONCLUSIONS: Single supplementation with zinc significantly improved growth, and single supplementation with iron significantly improved growth and psychomotor development, but combined supplementation with iron and zinc had no significant effect on growth or development. Combined, simultaneous supplementation with iron and zinc to infants cannot be routinely recommended at the iron-to-zinc ratio used in this study.     

Dietary iron intake is positively associated with hemoglobin concentration during infancy but not during the second year of life

Iron status during infancy and early childhood reflects highly dynamic processes, which are affected by both internal and external factors. The regulation of iron metabolism seems to be subjected to developmental changes during infancy, although the exact nature of these changes and their implications are not fully understood. We wanted to explore the association between dietary iron intake and indicators of iron status, and to assess temporal changes in these variables. This was done by secondary analysis of data from a recently conducted dietary intervention trial in which healthy, term, well-nourished infants were randomly assigned to consume iron-fortified infant cereals with regular or low phytate content, or iron-fortified infant formula. Dietary iron intake from 6 to 8 mo and from 9 to 11 mo was associated with hemoglobin (Hb) concentration at 9 mo (r = 0.27, P < 0.001) and 12 mo (r = 0.21, P = 0.001), respectively, but iron intake from 12 to 18 mo was not associated with Hb at 18 mo. In contrast, iron intake from 6 to 11 mo was not associated with serum ferritin (S-Ft) at 9 or 12 mo, whereas iron intake from 12 to 17 mo was positively associated with S-Ft at 18 mo (r = 0.14, P = 0.032). These shifts in associations between dietary iron intake, and Hb and S-Ft, respectively, may be due to developmental changes in the channeling of dietary iron to erythropoiesis relative to storage, in the absence of iron deficiency anemia. These observations should be taken into consideration when evaluating iron nutritional status during infancy and early childhood.     

Costs of informal care for patients in advanced home care: a population-based study

OBJECTIVES: Several studies have sought to analyze the cost-effectiveness of advanced home care and home rehabilitation. However, the costs of informal care are rarely included in economic appraisals of home care. This study estimates the cost of informal care for patients treated in advanced home care and analyses some patient characteristics that influence informal care costs. METHODS: During one week in October 1995, data were collected on all 451 patients in advanced home care in the Swedish county of Osterg?tland. Costs were calculated by using two models: one including leisure time, and one excluding leisure time. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze factors associated with costs of informal care. RESULTS: Severity percent of the patients in the study had informal care around the clock during the week investigated. The patients had, on average, five formal care visits per week, each of which lasted for almost half an hour. Thus, the cost of informal care constituted a considerable part of the cost of advanced home care. When the cost of leisure time was included, the cost of informal care was estimated at SEK 5,880 per week per patient, or twice as high as total formal caregiver costs. When leisure time was excluded, the cost of informal care was estimated at SEK 3,410 per week per patient, which is still 1.2 times higher than formal caregiver costs (estimated at SEK 2,810 per week per patient). Informal care costs were higher among patients who were men, who were younger, who had their own housing, and who were diagnosed with cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of advanced home care that exclude the cost of informal care substantially underestimate the costs to society, regardless of whether or not the leisure time of the caregiver is included in the calculations.     

A community-based randomized controlled trial of iron and zinc supplementation in Indonesian infants: interactions between iron and zinc

BACKGROUND: Combined supplementation with iron and zinc during infancy may be effective in preventing deficiencies of these micronutrients, but knowledge of their potential interactions when given together is insufficient. OBJECTIVE: The goal was to compare the effect in infants of combined supplementation with iron and zinc and of supplementation with single micronutrients on iron and zinc status. DESIGN: Indonesian infants (n = 680) were randomly assigned to daily supplementation with 10 mg Fe (Fe group), 10 mg Zn (Zn group), 10 mg Fe + 10 mg Zn (Fe+Zn group), or placebo from 6 to 12 mo of age. Venous blood samples were collected at the start and end of the study. Five hundred forty-nine infants completed the supplementation and had both baseline and follow-up blood samples available for analysis. RESULTS: Baseline prevalences of anemia, iron deficiency anemia (anemia and low serum ferritin), and low serum zinc (< 10.7 micromol/L) were 41%, 8%, and 78%, respectively. After supplementation, the Fe group had higher hemoglobin (119.4 compared with 115.3 g/L; P < 0.05) and serum ferritin (46.5 compared with 32.3 microg/L; P < 0.05) values than did the Fe+Zn group, indicating an effect of zinc on iron absorption. The Zn group had higher serum zinc (11.58 compared with 9.06 micromol/L; P < 0.05) than did the placebo group. There was a dose effect on serum ferritin in the Fe and Fe+Zn groups, but at different levels. There was a significant dose effect on serum zinc in the Zn group, whereas no dose effect was found in the Fe+Zn group beyond 7 mg Zn/d. CONCLUSION: Supplementation with iron and zinc was less efficacious than were single supplements in improving iron and zinc status, with evidence of an interaction between iron and zinc when the combined supplement was given.