[Health and nutrition in Tarahumara adolescents].

OBJECTIVE

to describe the health of indigenous Raramuri adolescents.

METHODS

data from native adolescents aged 10-19 years was analyzed from a population, school and hospital-based studies conducted between 1998 and 2007 covering the following topics: nutrition and reproductive health in 12-19 year-old women, nutrition and health in schoolchildren aged 10-14, and injuries in adolescents aged 10-19 years.

RESULTS

prevalence of anemia in non-pregnant women (12-19 years) was 18.5 %, and of overweight/obesity 14/0 % (12-15 years) and 11.8/2 % (15-19 years). At school level (10-14 years) overweight/obesity was 5.1/0.6 %; the rate of anemia and goiter for men/women was 9.5/13.4 % and 6.3/7.9 %, respectively; there were also vitamin B12 (32 %), zinc (80 %) and iron (22 %) deficiencies. Nearly 75 % of school children had intestinal parasites. At hospital level, 34.5 % of indigenous women underwent a cesarea operation, mainly due to preeclampsia (33.3 %) and fetal distress (15.7 %). From injury-related hospitalizations, intracranial injuries (16.7 %) and burns (11.1 %) were the most frequent in indigenous men aged 10-19 years and added 10 % of the hospital admissions.