Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Medical Sciences Building, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
J Trop Pediatr. 2011 Feb;57(1):24-33. doi: 10.1093/tropej/fmq043. Epub 2010 Jun 15.
This representative, cross-sectional study conducted in Kabarole District, Western Uganda, determined the nutritional status of children 6-59 months of age and established a trend in the childhood stunting rates.
A multi-stage random cluster sampling was performed to select 322 children and their principal caregivers. Anthropometric measurements were taken from the children and compared with a reference population and the children's principle caregivers were interviewed.
Childhood stunting was high with 43.0% of all children having a z-score of less than or equal to -2. Predictive factors for stunting were a low economic status of the household, poor health of the child's caregiver, residence located at a long distance from a health unit and use of a contaminated water source. The comparison of our study results with an earlier nutritional study in Kabarole District revealed that there is an increasing trend of childhood stunting over the years of 28.0% [95% confidence interval (CI) 22.1-33.1%] in 1989 vs 43% (95% CI 37.6-48.8%) in 2006 and that stunting rates in Kabarole District were much higher compared to national data.
The high stunting rates in children and the increasing trend in stunting needs further investigations. It should also be determined why stunting rates in children in Kabarole District are much higher than the national average. There is a need for better nutritional interventions as part of the district's public health programs.
本研究在乌干达西部卡巴罗莱区开展了一项具有代表性的横断面研究，旨在评估 6-59 月龄儿童的营养状况，并确定儿童生长迟缓率的变化趋势。
采用多阶段随机聚类抽样方法选择 322 名儿童及其主要照顾者。对儿童进行人体测量，并与参考人群进行比较，同时对儿童的主要照顾者进行访谈。
儿童生长迟缓率较高，所有儿童中有 43.0%的人 z 评分小于或等于-2。导致生长迟缓的预测因素包括家庭经济状况差、儿童照顾者健康状况差、居住地点距离卫生机构较远以及使用受污染的水源。与卡巴罗莱区早期的营养研究结果相比，本研究结果显示，近年来儿童生长迟缓的趋势呈上升趋势，1989 年为 28.0%（95%置信区间：22.1%-33.1%），2006 年为 43%（95%置信区间：37.6%-48.8%），而且卡巴罗莱区的生长迟缓率远高于全国数据。
儿童生长迟缓率较高且呈上升趋势，需要进一步调查。还应确定卡巴罗莱区儿童生长迟缓率远高于全国平均水平的原因。作为该地区公共卫生计划的一部分，需要更好的营养干预措施。
