RESUMEN
Background: The nutritional status of preschool children is a critical indicator of their overall health and development. Breastfeeding provides best start of life to babies as well as improves the health of mothers and babies. Objectives were to assess the nutritional status of preschool children and to Investigate the impact of breastfeeding practices on children’s nutritional outcomes and breastfeeding practices of their mothers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban slum area and involved a sample of preschool children aged 3 to 6 years. Complete enumeration of children of 3-6 years age group was done. Nutritional status was assessed through anthropometric measurements, including height, weight and mid upper arm circumference. Data on breastfeeding practices were collected through structured interviews. Data was analysed using MS excel and chi-square statistical tests was applied. Results: There were 334 study participants of which 7.5% had stunting and 62.87% were underweight. It was found that 18.56% had history of low birth weight. 90.12% were exclusively breastfed and breastfeeding was continued up to 2 years for 28.14% and more than 2 years for 71.86% children. It was also found that history of low birth weight of children is significantly associated with malnourishment (p?0.05). Conclusions: The study revealed that a substantial proportion of preschool children in the urban area were experiencing malnutrition. The breastfeeding practices were fair among the mothers of the children. Targeted education and awareness programs to enhance the nutrition can improve the overall health of preschool children in the urban setting.
RESUMEN
Of the 1,432 participants, 767 were males and 665 were females. The prevalence of hypertension was 13.90%. The sex-wise prevalence was 9.52% and 18.95% in males and females respectively. The age distribution of hypertension was multi-modal. More than one-third of the hypertensive patients were also diabetics. The difference in the distribution of blood levels of sugar, electrolytes and cholesterol in the hypertensives and normotensives were not statistically significant. These findings question the rationale of ordering these blood tests as part of routine investigations for all hypertensives.