[Growth after early severe malnutrition].

In order to investigate growth following early severe malnutrition, two groups of 40 children and their mothers were studied, one of patients recovered from early protein energy malnutrition (PEM) at a closed center for nutritional recovery and another one of children under the same socioeconomic condition but who had never been malnourished. Both groups were matched for sex and age, and were followed by the same professional team for 9 years. A significant difference in mother's size (154.8 +/- 5.2 vs. 150 +/- 3.6 cm) and in patients size at birth (males 3,453.5 +/- 522.3 vs. 3,018.2 +/- 490.3 and females 3,328.4 +/- 563.4 vs. 2,654.6 +/- 579.6 g) was found in favour of the control group (p < 0.01). There were significant differences in height for age (H/A) and weight for age (W/A) (p < 0.001) but not in weight for height ratios between children for both groups (fig. 1 and 2). No differences were detected in bone age. Growth velocity was similar in both groups of boys (10.40 +/- 2.3 vs. 9.81 +/- 1.40 cm and 12.94 +/- 2.53 vs. 12.80 +/- 1.64 cm from 5 to 7 and 7 to 9 years of age respectively) but it was significantly greater in control girls (11.22 +/- 2.70 vs. 9.30 +/- 1.60 and 15.60 +/- 1.66 vs. 12.80 +/- 2.20 cm 5 to 7 and 7 to 9 years respectively, p < 0.01). These findings show that malnutrition before 2 years of age may produce long term effects on growth in children of low socioeconomic condition specially if, after treatment, they are turned back to the same unfavourable environment.