Comparación del estado nutricional entre escolares indígenas y no indígenas / Comparison of nutritional status of school children from indigenous and non indigenous ancestry

Background: The few studies in Chile assessing the nutritional status of indigenous children show a high prevalence of stunting, excess weight and feeding problems. Aim: to compare anthropometric indices in children from indigenous and non indigenous ancestry. Subjects and methods: school children aged 6 to 8 years old, living in locations with three clear cut levels of social vulnerability were studied. Children were considered indigenous if their last names, as well as those of their parents were of mapuche origin. Non indigenous were those whose last names were of spanish origin. Results: four hundred and fifty indigenous and 684 non indigenous children were studied. Indigenous children from high vulnerability communities were approximately 0.5 z score shorter than those of non indigenous origin. Heights of indigenous and non indigenous children were similar in communities with intermediate and low social vulnerability. The proportion of the lower segment followed the same trend. Weight/height ratios were higher among indigenous children in the three vulnerability levels. Among indigenous children coming from areas of low vulnerability arm circumference was 1 cm broader than that of their non indigenous counterparts. Conclusions: stunting is prevalent among school children from areas of high socioeconomic vulnerability, mainly rural, and independent from ethnicity. Among indigenous school children overweight and a broader arm circumference are frequent. These results urgently call for located and specific nutrition interventions

Acreditación de títulos profesionales e instituciones formadoras: el caso de Chile / Acreditation of professionals and teaching institutions: the case of Chile

Accreditation has acquired special relevance for the habilitation of professional practice, considering the proliferation of teaching institutions, the variety of training programs and the increasing amount of professionals requiring accreditation or revalidation of their titles. The internationalization of professional activities requires global and uniform accreditation procedures to avoid inequalities in evaluation of different professionals coming from abroad or from Chile. In the scope of medical practice, these concepts acquire special relevance, considering the appearance of new medical schools in the last decade and the increasing number of foreign physicians that need to revalidate their titles. In the period between January 1996 and September 1997, 192 foreign physicians applied to revalidate their titles and only 55 were approved. Therefore, the establishment of and effective evaluation system will correct deficiencies in the accreditation process and will promote the revision of training programs and the progress of teaching institutions. The organisms that will require to be accredited must be confident that this action will improve the quality of Chilean professional training

La baja estatura de los hijos: ¿se relaciona con la de sus padres?: estudio epidemiológico interclase social / Is there a relationship between the short stature of parents and their chldren?

One thousand, eight hundred and forty two children of low socioeconomic level and 2,770 children of high socioeconomic level were initially measured. Those with a z score for height below -1 were selected (251 of low socioeconomic level and 157 of high socioeconomic level) and the height of their parents was measured. Results: Mothers and fathers of low socioeconomic level were 6.1 and 7.4 cm shorter than their counterparts of high socioeconomic level. The z score for height of low socioeconomic level children was significantly better than that of their parents and the relative risk for stunting was 2 when one of the parents had a short stature. Among children of high socioeconomic level, the relative risk of stunting was 4.8 and 11, when the mother or the father had a short stature, respectively. Conclusions: The better height adequacy of low socioeconomic level children, compared to their parents, suggests that the new generations are growing better thant their ancestors. Among children of high socioeconomic level, whose growth potential is fully expressed, the parents height is a good predictor of stunting

Estado nutricional en escolares de nivel socioeconómico opuesto / Nutritional status in school children of opossite socioeconomical level

The aim of this work was to compare the nutritional status of children from low and high socioeconomic levels. Weight, height, mid arm circumference and tricipital skinfold thickness were measured in 1,842 children of low and 2,770 of high socioeconomic status. Mean weight, height and mid arm muscular circumference were higher in children of high socioeconomic status. Also, growth failure and overweight had a higher frequency among children of low socioeconomic status. Mean weight, height and mid arm circumference were higher in males of both groups. Among children of low socioeconomic status, height/age ratios were lower in men and weight/height ratios were higher in women. These differences were not observed in children of high socioeconomic level. We conclude that adverse environmental conditions, lower physical activity and indigenous ancestors may alter the nutritional status of children of low socioeconomic levels

Factores de protección de la estatura en escolares rurales de alta vulnerabilidad social / Protection factors of height in rural school children of high social vulnerability

Complementamos la línea de investigación respecto a la talla del escolar chileno con la presente comunicación que se enmarca en el concepto de las desviaciones positivas del crecimiento. El objetivo fue identificar y cuantificar el impacto de factores de protección del crecimiento en longitud. Los sujetos de estudio fueron de primer y segundo básico de comunas rurales de alta vulnerabilidad, definiéndose como casos a los escolares con estatura sobre 0,5 puntaje Z y como controles a aquéllos con estatura entre ñ 0,55 puntaje Z de la norma NCHS/OMS. Se estudiaron 161 pares, a los que se aplicó una encuesta domiciliaria para recoger información sobre estatura de los padres, cuidados recibidos por el niño, más factores socioeconómicos, demográficos y biológicos. Los análisis multivariados realizados mediante modelos de regresión logística condicional revelaron que los factores que mejor explicaron la talla alta fueron el número de controles en el embarazo con una ventaje (OR=3,61), los cuidados recibidos por el niño (OR=2,42) y la estatura de la madre (significancia límite). Se identificaron así dos factores asociados a crecimiento óptimo: preocupación de la madre por su propia salud y adecuación de los cuidados del niño, factores importantes de reforzar cuando la meta es el óptimo crecimiento del niño

Hiperlipoproteinemia tipo I / Type I hyperlipoproteinemia

Se presenta el caso clínico de una paciente portadora de una hiperlipoproteinemia tipo I controlada durante 5 años. Se describe las características clínicas y de laboratorio de esta enfermedad así como la respuesta al tratamiento dietético que es fundamental en la evolución de esta alteración metabólica tan poco frecuente