Circunferencia craneana de escolares chilenos de 5 a 18 años y nivel socioeconómico / Head circumference of chilean school children ages 5 to 18 years old and socioeconomic status

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study were to determine the head circumference (HC) values of a representatiive sample of 4.346 school children ages 5 to 18 years from Chile's Metropolitan Region, to carry out a comparative study with international referencew data of Tanner, Nellhaus and Roche et al, and to compare the HC values by socioeconomic status (SES). The sample included school children of both sex, from public, private subsidized and private non-subsidized schools and from urban and rural areas. HC was measured according to Jellife norms and SES through Graffar's Modified Method. Results showed a high correlation between HC values of school-age children fron Chile's Metropolitan Region and Tanner, Nellhaus and Roche et al Tables, with similar growth curves; from this manner, HC values of school-age children from Chile's Metropolitan Region not differ significantly from international reference data. HC values were, in general, significantly higher in males than females in all age groups, in students fron high SES to compare with other socioeconomic strata and in older school children. This fact was tested too in 1992, in a representative sample of 605 poor school children beneficiaries from the School Feeding Program in Peñalolén and Pirque Counties from Chile's Metropolitan Region with similar results. It can be concluded that HC values of school-age children from Chile's Metropolitan Region were higher in males than females, in high SES compared with medium and low SES and in older students and does not differ significantly from international reference data