Prevalence of rickets in rural Aswan

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted in El-Sheikh Ibrahim village- Aswan Governorate. All the village children aged 0-5 years [469] were included in this work. Clinical rickets was found in 14.7% of the studied children. Of the rachitic children 79.7% were aged 2 years or less. Prevalence of rickets was significantly higher in boys [18.2%] than in girls [10.9%], in children with birth rank four or more - [24.6%] than in those with birth rank three or less [11.5%], in children with birth interval less than two years [21%] than in those with birth interval 2 years or more [8.6%] and in children with a history of more than four diarrheal episodes per year [50%] than in those with less than 4 diarrheal episodes per year [9%]. Wasting was found in 28.2% and stunting was found in 31.4% of the examined children. The prevalence of rickets was significantly higher in children with wasting [18.6%] than in those without [11.1%]. No significant differences in the prevalence of rickets was found in relation to stunting or in relation to the pattern of feeding. On radiological basis rachitic cases were described as active, healing or heald in 10.1%, 43.9% and 16% respectively. There was a good correlation between the activity of rickets assessed radiologically and the levels of both serum phosphorus and serum alkaline phosphatase. Hypocalcemia was found in all cases of active rickets and in 73.4% of healing rickets. Hypercalcemia was found in 3 cases of healed rickets