association between extended breast feeding and growth of Egyptian infants

The objective of the study was to investigate the association between extended breast feeding [EBF] and the nutritional status of Egyptian infants assessed by some selected anthropometric measurements. A cross-sectional sample of 985 infants of both sexes, attending different vaccination centres in Cairo area was examined. All infants were breastfed and their ages ranged between 1 and 24 months. SDS of the different anthropometric measurements were compared between infants who were breastfed shorter or longer than certain pre-determined cut-off points [6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 18 months of breast feeding]. The comparison revealed an apparent trend in soft tissue growth, namely body weight, left mid upper-arm circumference, biceps, triceps, sub scapular, and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses. The trend was that at the cut off point of 6 months duration of breast feeding the differences between the SDS of infants who were breastfed longer than, and those who were breastfed shorter than the cut-off, were minimal. The negative deviation from the normal for infants who were breastfed longer than the cut off points of 7, 8 or 9 months of breast feeding was more than the negative deviation for infants who were breastfed shorter than these cut-off points. When cut-off points of 10, 11, 12, 15 or 18 months of breast feeding were considered; the negative deviation for infants who were breastfed longer than the cut-off points got lesser [biceps skinfold thickness], disappeared [body weight] or reversed showing positive deviation from the normal [Suprailiac, subscapular and triceps skinfold thickness; as well as arm circumference]. The other anthropometric measurements namely: body length, trunk length and chest circumferences showed no specific differences between the SDS of the two groups at the different cut off points. The study concluded that EBF improves infant's nutritional status, particularly if prolonged until the end of the first year of life to gain the maximum benefits of breast milk on infant's growth

Normal values and inter-relations of body length segments in Cairo infants

This study aimed: a] to provide reference data for crown-heel length, crown-subischial length, subischial leg length and knee-heel length; b] to describe some body proportions namely crown-subischial length/crown-heel length, subischia leg length/crown-heel length, crown-subischial length/subischial leg length and knee-heel length/crown-heel length: c] to study the sex difference of these measurements and ratios, d] and to analyze the correlation between crown-heel length and the other studied measurements in Egyptian infants. Data were collected cross-sectionally from a sample of 794 male [mean age: 8.97 years] and 810 female [mean age: 8.30 years] infants from the Greater Cairo area. Anthropometric measurements were performed according to formal descriptions using standard instruments. Age changes in the studied measurements and ratios during infancy are graphically presented for each sex, males were advanced over females in all the studied measurements and ratios with high significance of difference [P<0.000]. Significant association was observed between crown-heel length and the studied measurements in most of the studied age groups. A comparison is made with other studies especially with a previous Egyptian growth study [1980-1990]. The current study recorded higher values in comparison to tile previous one for both males and females. In males at age of 1 and 18 months the high significance of differences [P<0.000] was only noticed in crown-heel length which implies that the main change was in leg length