ABSTRACT
<p><b>Objectives:</b> The factors associated with quality of life (QOL) and anthropometric measurements as outcomes of food consumption were examined among school-age children in Tanzania.</p><p><b>Methods:</b> A cross-sectional study was undertaken in September 2013 in Tanzania. Anonymous self-administered questionnaire surveys were conducted in the Kiswahili language among primary school children in the fifth and/or sixth grade aged 10–14 years. The survey probed sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, living with family members, number of meals/snacks per day, food consumption in the previous 24 hours, and QOL, as well as anthropometric measurements (height and weight). The Rohrer index was calculated based on height and weight. After presenting the mean and standard deviation (SD) of height, weight, and the Rohrer index score by age and gender, the Rohrer index score was categorized into three groups (low weight, normal weight, and overweight) and analyzed according to sociodemographic characteristics and food consumption using the chi-square test. Furthermore, the QOL score was analyzed using the <i>t</i> test. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to analyze the associations between the QOL score and sociodemographic characteristics and food consumption.</p><p><b>Results:</b> A total of 694 children (male: 312; female: 382) participated in this study. According to the Rohrer index, 273 (39.3%) children were classified as low weight, 353 (50.9%) were normal weight, and 68 (9.8%) were overweight. A total of 459 (66.1%) children reported having had three or more meals and/or snacks on the day before the study. In addition, 127 (18.3%) children had not eaten any protein-rich food on the day before the study, although almost all had eaten at least one carbohydrate-rich food per day. Regardless of region, location, gender, and age, living without parents was associated with short stature (<i>P</i> = 0.010). A high QOL score was associated with having three or more meals and/or snacks per day (<i>P</i> < 0.001).</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b> The security of physiological needs such as a guarantee of three meals per day could contribute to higher QOL among underserved children.</p>
ABSTRACT
<b>Background</b><br> According to the state of the world's children 2006, 28% of children under five years of age in sub-Sahara Africa are malnourished, which has serious effects on these children's health and lives. <br> Extensive research has been conducted on child malnutrition in a variety of developing countries. These studies have established scientific indexes to lead and coordinate international action to assist the needy. Central African Republic, however, has been a blind spot. Therefore, the present study was conducted in order to clarify the nutritional status and associated factors of 6 to 24-month-old children in the district of Boy-rabe, Bangui, Central African Republic.<br><b>Methods</b><br> Participants were mothers with children aged 6-24 months who visited either a government-run clinic or the NGO-run clinic, Amis d'Afrique, between August 26th and September 16th of 2006. Mothers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and measurements of the children's weight and length were collected. Weight, length, and age data were compared with child growth standards proposed by the WHO to calculated z-scores for evaluatinglength-for-age (wasting), weight-for-length (stunted growth), and weight-for-age (underweight). The following factors were investigated for their association to malnutrition in children: “demographic characteristics”, “access to food”, “maternal and child-care practices”, and “poor water/sanitation and inadequate health services”.<br><b>Results</b><br> A total of 126 mother-child pairs participated in this study and valid data from 109 pairs were subjected to analysis. The rates of wasting, stunted growth, and underweight children were 20.2%, 61.5% and 42.2%, respectively.<br> Incomplete vaccination (p=0.043) and the mother not having a partner (p=0.046) were significantly associated with wasting. Stunted growth was found to be associated with older child's age (p<0.001), older mothers' age (p=0.005), mothers who had stopped breast-feeding (p=0.031), insufficient breast-feeding (p=0.032), mothers with child death experience (p=0.022), mothers with a number of delivery experiences (p=0.026) and mothers with a partner (p=0.042). Underweight children were associated with incomplete vaccination (p=0.043) and mothers with child death experience (p=0.046).<br><b>Conclusion</b><br> In total, 8 factors were found to be significantly associated with child's malnutrition and household/family level. In particular, severe acute malnutrition, or wasting, was related to insufficient vaccination, while chronic malnutrition, or stunted growth, was significantly associated with breast-feeding.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to construct a measurement instrument for climacteric symptoms among Korean and Japanese women. METHODS: From Dec. 1st of 2003 to March 30th of 2004, in-depth interviews were made with 26 women (15 in Jinju, Korea and 11 in Nagasaki, Japan) aged from 45 to 59 years who had not taken hormone replacement therapy to relieve the climacteric symptoms. A draft questionnaire with 45 items was constructed on the basis of the interview data and literature review. Three obstetricians, three PhDs in nursing science, and a chief nurse who was exclusively in charge of the climacteric management, examined the draft questionnaire to evaluate content validity. After deletions 39 items remained for a preliminary questionnaire. A survey was conducted by using a convenient sampling method in Jinju of Korea and Nagasaki of Japan during the period from April 1st, 2004 to July 10th, 2005. RESULTS: Factor analysis identified 4 factors, which were "mental and psychological symptoms", "physical symp-toms", "loss of autonomic nervous system symptoms", "sexual symptoms". These four factors explained 46.9% of total variance. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that climacteric symptom scale was multidimensional, and the reliability and validity of the scale was supported.