RESUMEN
The aim of the study was to determine the extent and nature of consanguinity in the Qatari population and its effects on common adult diseases. The study was conducted in urban and semi-urban areas of Qatar between October 2004 and May 2005. The total sample of 1,050 married Qatari females 15 years of age and over were approached for study. The degree of con-sanguinity between each female and her spouse and the degree of consanguinity between their parents were recorded. Of 1,050 married Qatari females who were approached, 876 agreed to participate in the study, giving an 83.4% response. The rate of consanguinity in the present generation was 51% [95% confidence interval=47.7-54.4] with a coefficient of inbreeding of 0.023724. The consanguinity rate and coefficient of inbreeding in the current generation were significantly higher than the maternal rate [51.0 vs. 40.3%; p<0.001; 0.023724 vs. 0.016410 maternal]. All types of consanguineous marriages were higher in this generation, particularly first cousins [26.7 vs. 21.4% paternal and 23.1% maternal] and double first cousins [4.3 vs. 2.9% paternal and 0.8% maternal]. The current generation of consanguineous parents had a slightly higher risk for most diseases: cancer, mental disorders, heart diseases, gastro-intestinal disorders, hypertension, hearing deficit and diabetes mellitus. All reported diseases were more frequent in consanguineous marriages. The study showed that in a population with a high rate of consanguinity, there is a significant increase in the prevalence of common adult diseases like cancer, mental disorders, heart diseases, gastro-intestinal disorders, hypertension and hearing deficit
RESUMEN
The objective of growth monitoring is to detect early growth faltering before the child becomes severely malnourished. It has been found in many large projects in the private sector and in Government run Primary Health Care [PHC] programmes that monthly weighing is not feasible which makes it impossible to develop a functional outreach programme on a sustainable basis. This study is an attempt to propose an intermittent growth monitoring which is operationally feasible for large scale PHC programmes in the public sector. A historical prospective study was conducted to find out the correlation of weights of children at different ages with weights at subsequent months. Two hundred and ninety-two growth cards of children were selected from two squatter settlements of Karachi which are having a PHC programme through the Aga Khan University. At six months, about 71% of children were within the normal range, with increasing age from 10% to 39% of these children shifted to grade I Protein Energy Malnutrition [PEM]. When weights of children for each month were correlated with weights at all other months uptil 24 months, it was found that correlation coefficient at 6th and 9th month were significant [P value < 0.001]. Probability of developing malnutrition at different weights and ages were also calculated. The results indicate that malnutrition starts appearing at 6 months and weights at 6 months and to a lesser extent at 9 months are better prognostic indices of future malnutrition. Intermittent weighing of children can help in early identification of "high risk" children who can then be managed and even be prevented from developing future malnutrition