Lwambo N J, Brooker S, Siza J E, Bundy D A, Guyatt H
National Institute for Medical Research, Mwanza Research Centre, P.O. Box 1462, Mwanza, Tanzania.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jan;54(1):36-40. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600890.
To describe the nutritional status of schoolchildren from a rural area of Tanzania, with a particular emphasis on older adolescents to determine the timing of the growth spurt and differences by sex.
A cross-sectional survey using a randomly selected sample.
Six thousand eight hundred and one children aged 7-18 y randomly selected from those enrolled in standards 2-5 in 59 primary schools in Magu District, Tanzania.
Overall, 52.5% of children were stunted and 43.0% were underweight, with significantly more boys stunted and underweight than girls. Z-scores of height-for-age for both boys and girls decreased progressively between 7 and 12 y. After 12 y the height-for-age z-scores of girls show a marked upturn, whilst z-scores for boys continue to decrease throughout the school-aged years until 16 y when a slight upturn is observed. Anaemia (Hb<120 g/L) was present in 62.6% of children, with the prevalence decreasing with age. Anaemia improved throughout the school years for boys, but did not for girls. Age, sex and hookworm infection were significant predictors of anaemia.
Stunting and anaemia are exceptionally common conditions in African schoolchildren. The findings highlight important differences between boys and girls, which are suggestive of compensatory growth at 12 y for girls and at 16 y for boys, although it remains unclear whether boys will catch up in height at older ages.
Funding was provided by the Wellcome Trust. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 36-40
描述坦桑尼亚农村地区学童的营养状况，尤其着重于年龄较大的青少年，以确定生长突增的时间及性别差异。
采用随机抽样的横断面调查。
从坦桑尼亚马古区59所小学2至5年级注册学生中随机抽取的6801名7至18岁儿童。
总体而言，52.5%的儿童发育迟缓，43.0%的儿童体重不足，发育迟缓和体重不足的男孩明显多于女孩。7至12岁期间，男孩和女孩的年龄别身高Z评分均逐渐下降。12岁以后，女孩的年龄别身高Z评分显著上升，而男孩的Z评分在整个学龄期持续下降，直到16岁时略有上升。62.6%的儿童患有贫血（血红蛋白<120 g/L），患病率随年龄增长而降低。男孩在整个学年中贫血情况有所改善，而女孩则没有。年龄、性别和钩虫感染是贫血的重要预测因素。
发育迟缓和贫血在非洲学童中极为常见。研究结果突出了男孩和女孩之间的重要差异，这表明女孩在12岁时、男孩在16岁时有代偿性生长，尽管尚不清楚男孩在较大年龄时身高是否会追赶上来。
由威康信托基金会提供资金。《欧洲临床营养学杂志》（2000年）54卷，36 - 40页
