scholarly journals Long-term evaluation of a micronutrient-fortified biscuit used for addressing micronutrient deficiencies in primary school children

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1201-1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
ME van Stuijvenberg ◽  
MA Dhansay ◽  
CM Smuts ◽  
CJ Lombard ◽  
VB Jogessar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Serum Ferritin ◽  
School Children ◽  
Transferrin Saturation ◽  
Urinary Iodine ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Serum Retinol ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Β Carotene

AbstractObjective:To evaluate the long-term effect on micronutrient status of a β-carotene-, iron- and iodine-fortified biscuit given to primary school children as school feeding.Design:Children receiving the fortified biscuit were followed in a longitudinal study for 2.5 years (n=108); in addition, cross-sectional data from three subsequent surveys conducted in the same school are reported.Setting:A rural community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Subjects:Children aged 6–11 years attending the primary school where the biscuit was distributed.Results:There was a significant improvement in serum retinol, serum ferritin, haemoglobin, transferrin saturation and urinary iodine during the first 12 months of the biscuit intervention. However, when the school reopened after the summer holidays, all variables, except urinary iodine, returned to pre-intervention levels. Serum retinol increased again during the next 9 months, but was significantly lower in a subsequent cross-sectional survey carried out directly after the summer holidays; this pattern was repeated in two further cross-sectional surveys. Haemoglobin gradually deteriorated at each subsequent assessment, as did serum ferritin (apart from a slight increase at the 42-month assessment at the end of the school year).Conclusions:This study has shown that fortification of a biscuit with β-carotene at a level of 50% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) was enough to maintain serum retinol concentrations from day to day, but not enough to sustain levels during the long school holiday break. Other long-term solutions, such as local food production programmes combined with nutrition education, should also be examined. The choice of the iron compound used as fortificant in the biscuit needs further investigation.

scholarly journals Iodine Deficiency Disorders as a Predictor of Stunting among Primary School Children in the Aseer Region, Southwestern Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7644
Author(s):  
Fuad I. Abbag ◽  
Saeed A. Abu-Eshy ◽  
Ahmed A. Mahfouz ◽  
Mohammed A. Alsaleem ◽  
Safar A. Alsaleem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Iodine Deficiency ◽  
School Children ◽  
Urinary Iodine ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Iodine Content ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Iodine Deficiency Disorders ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive

Objectives: To investigate the present occurrence of stunting and explore the role of iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) as a predictor of stunting among primary school children in the Aseer Region. Methods: In a cross-sectional investigation on school children in the Aseer region, thyroid enlargement was evaluated clinically. Urine was collected to evaluate iodine content. Results: The present study involved 3046 school-age pupils. The study disclosed a total goiter rate of 24.0% (95% CI: 22.5–25.5%). The median urinary iodine content (UIC) was 17.0 µg/L. A prevalence of stunting (height for age z score of less than −2) of 7.8% (95% CI: 6.9–8.8%) was found. In a logistic regression model, pupils having clinical goiter (aOR = 1.739; 95% CI: 1.222–2.475) and students having UIC of less than 17 µg/L (aOR = 1.934; 95% CI: 1.457–2.571) were considerably related with stunting. In the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, urinary iodine content to forecast stunting was good (AUC = 0.611, 95% CI: 0.594–0.629). The curve recognized the optimum cutoff point of urinary iodine content to be ≤19.0 µg/L. The sensitivity was 59.66% (95% CI: 53.1–66.0) and the specificity was 57.62% (95% CI: 55.8–59.5). Conclusion: The present study showed that stunting among school-aged children presents a mild public health problem. On the other hand, a severe iodine deficiency situation was revealed among school children in the Aseer region. Continuous monitoring of iodine status among school children is therefore necessary. Concerted interventions that blend nutrition-sensitive with nutrition-specific approaches are expected to influence decreasing stunting significantly.

scholarly journals Streptococcal Throat Carriage among Primary School Children Living in Uyo, Southern Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. e28-e34
Author(s):  
Kevin B. Edem ◽  
Enobong E. Ikpeme ◽  
Mkpouto U. Akpan
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Antimicrobial Susceptibility ◽  
Group A Streptococcus ◽  
Latex Agglutination ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Disk Diffusion Method ◽  
Cross Sectional

AbstractSurveillance of the carrier state for β-hemolytic streptococcal (BHS) throat infections remains essential for disease control. Recent published works from Sub-Saharan Africa have suggested a changing epidemiology in the burden of BHS throat infections. The objective of the present study was therefore to determine the prevalence and pattern of BHS throat carriage in school-aged children in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. This was a prospective cross-sectional study of 276 primary school children in Uyo. Subjects were recruited by multistage random sampling. Obtained throat swabs were cultured on 5% sheep blood agar. Lancefield grouping on positive cultures was done by using the Oxoid Streptococcal Grouping Latex Agglutination Kit, United Kingdom. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done with the disk diffusion method. Associations were tested with Fischer's exact test. The prevalence of BHS carriage was 3.3%. Group C Streptococcus was identified in 89% of isolates and Group G Streptococcus in 11%. Younger age and larger household size were associated with asymptomatic streptococcal throat infections. Antimicrobial susceptibility was highest with cefuroxime and clindamycin (89% of isolates each), while 78% of isolates were susceptible to penicillin. None of the tested isolates was susceptible to co-trimoxazole. The prevalence of streptococcal throat carriage in the study area was low. There were no Group A Streptococcus isolates suggesting an evolving epidemiology of BHS disease in the study area.

scholarly journals Association of Dental Caries and Anthropometric Measures among Primary School Children

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Wajiha Anzar ◽  
Ambrina Qureshi ◽  
Ashar Afaq ◽  
Hiba F. Kattan ◽  
Basil Almutairi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dental Caries ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Clinical Data ◽  
School Children ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Anthropometric Measures ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Height For Age ◽  
Weight For Age

Aim: This study aimed to investigate an association between dental caries status and anthropometric measures in primary school children. Methods and Materials: An analytical cross-sectional study (n = 376) was conducted among primary school children (age range = 6–9 years) registered in private schools. Non-clinical data was gathered from parents of participating children through a self-administered structured questionnaire as well as from the children through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Clinical data included the examination of dental caries using dmft/DMFT index and anthropometric measures including calculated z-scores of height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), BMI-for-age (BAZ), and physical examination. Inferential statistics included Kruskal Wallis and linear regression for univariate and multivariate analysis respectively. Results: The proportion of dental caries in primary and secondary dentition was 67.6% and 8.2% respectively. A significant association was observed between dental caries status and HAZ, WAZ, and BAZ (p < 0.001). An inverse relation was found between low, medium, and high dental caries categories and anthropometric measures. Conclusions: In the primary dentition, dental caries were significantly and inversely related to weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age. Hence, it can be concluded that among the low-income population dental caries is associated with lower anthropometric outcomes in children and therefore caries management should be considered an approach impacting overall health and quality of life.

scholarly journals Processing of positive-causal and negative-causal coherence relations in primary school children and adults: a test of the cumulative cognitive complexity approach in German

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA KNOEPKE ◽  
TOBIAS RICHTER ◽  
MAJ-BRITT ISBERNER ◽  
JOHANNES NAUMANN ◽  
YVONNE NEEB ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Task Support ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Causal Coherence

AbstractEstablishing local coherence relations is central to text comprehension. Positive-causal coherence relations link a cause and its consequence, whereas negative-causal coherence relations add a contrastive meaning (negation) to the causal link. According to the cumulative cognitive complexity approach, negative-causal coherence relations are cognitively more complex than positive-causal ones. Therefore, they require greater cognitive effort during text comprehension and are acquired later in language development. The present cross-sectional study tested these predictions for German primary school children from Grades 1 to 4 and adults in reading and listening comprehension. Accuracy data in a semantic verification task support the predictions of the cumulative cognitive complexity approach. Negative-causal coherence relations are cognitively more demanding than positive-causal ones. Moreover, our findings indicate that children's comprehension of negative-causal coherence relations continues to develop throughout the course of primary school. Findings are discussed with respect to the generalizability of the cumulative cognitive complexity approach to German.

Specific Learning Disorder among Primary School Children of Sarai Alamgir

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Noreena Kausar ◽  
Nadia Farhat ◽  
Fauzia Maqsood ◽  
Hafsa Qurban ◽  
Admin
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
School Children ◽  
Learning Disorders ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Learning Disorder ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Specific Learning Disorder ◽  
Specific Learning

Abstract Objective: To examine the frequency of specific learning disorder (SLD) among primary school children of Sarai Alamgir, Pakistan. Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted from January to July 2018 in Sarai Alamgir. Multistage stratified sampling technique was used to select the sample from target population (N=914) of school children studying in 3rd and 4th class of six primary schoolsof Sarai Alamgir, Pakistan.Sample of n=837 children was selected through the Taro Yamane formula. Structured Clinical Diagnostic Interviews based on DSM-V (APA, 2013) diagnostic criteria of specific learning disorder were used to collect data. Children were approached in their classes. Screening tool was applied on all selected children to screen out the vulnerable cases. After screening the vulnerable cases, diagnostic criteria of different specific learning disorders were applied on all vulnerable cases. The frequencies and percentages were analyzed to see the frequency  of learning disorder among children. Results:Findings indicate that 174 (20.7%) children were vulnerable to specific learning disorders out of sample of 837 children. Total 13 (7.5%) children were diagnosed as suffering from different specific learning disorders from vulnerable participants. From vulnerable cases, 1(7.7%) childfulfilled the diagnostic criteria of reading impairment, 3 (23.1%) were diagnosed with mathematics impairment, 4 (30.8%) with multiple impairments in mathematics and writing, 1 (7.7%) with multiple impairments in mathematics and reading, 1 (7.7%) with multiple impairments in reading and writing, and 3 (23.1%) children were diagnosed as suffering from multiple impairments in mathematics, reading and writing. Continuous...

scholarly journals Association of Heavy School Bags with Musculoskeletal Discomfort among Primary School Children of Islamabad, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 358-364
Author(s):  
Humaira Khan ◽  
Hadiqa Adnan ◽  
Sara Qayyaum ◽  
Hajar Jamshaid ◽  
Rabiya Tahir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Shoulder Pain ◽  
School Children ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
P Value ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
Musculoskeletal Discomfort ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Secondary Damage

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders, an increasing concern among school going children, primarily affect muscles and tendons. They lead to secondary damage to nerves and joints in the neck, upper back, shoulders, arms, and hands, etc. The objective of this study was to determine the association of carrying heavy school bags with musculoskeletal discomfort among primary school children in government schools of Islamabad, Pakistan. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in different government schools of Islamabad, Pakistan from June 2018 to November 2018. After an informed consent from parents, 377 healthy school going children aged 6-14 years were included in this study. Data was collected through Backpack Questionnaire. Chi square test was used to compare the frequency of musculoskeletal discomfort with demographic characteristics and backpack-related features. P-value less than .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Mean age of the school children was 9.49 ± 1.53 years with 179 (46.9%) male and 203 (53.1%) female students. Majority of students (89.8%) were found with school bags more than 15% of their body weight. Shoulder pain was the most commonly reported complaint (67.3%). There was a significant association between pain and perceived backpack weight (P=.001), and between pain and self-perceived posture (P=.001). Leaning forward (66.2%) was the most commonly adopted posture followed by leaning sideways (15.4%) and stooping (2.9%), respectively. The association between pain and duration of carrying backpack from home to school was insignificant (P=.055) in contrast to pain and duration of carrying bag from school to home (P=.007), respectively. Conclusions: Musculoskeletal discomfort was found commonly among primary school children with shoulder pain being the most frequent, as maximum students were carrying heavy school bags.

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