Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1998 May-Jun;92(3):254-61. doi: 10.1016/s0035-9203(98)90999-3.
Surveys of the health of schoolchildren in Tanga Region, Tanzania and Volta Region, Ghana are reported. Two age groups of both sexes were studied: 8-9 and 12-13 years old. Children themselves tend to have a poor perception of their health status. This is confirmed by biomedical surveys. Evidence was common of chronic ill-health due to undernutrition, anaemia, parasitic infections and micronutrient deficiencies. The older age groups of both sexes were significantly more stunted (height-for-age z score < 2 below National Center for Health Statistics reference values) than the younger groups, indicating that linear growth continues to falter throughout the school-age years. Anaemia was common: 38% of children in Ghana and 75% of children in Tanzania had a haemoglobin level < 120 g/L. Younger children were more likely to be anaemic than older children, but no significant difference between the sexes was observed. Helminth infections which cause blood loss (Schistosoma haematobium and hookworms) were common and only 37% of children in Ghana and 14% in Tanzania had no evidence of worm infection. In Ghana, 71% of children had a low urinary iodine concentration; in Tanzania 38%. The burden of ill-health suggests that school health programmes in these countries which deliver anthelmintics and micronutrient supplements have the potential to improve the health, growth and educational achievements of schoolchildren.
本文报告了对坦桑尼亚坦噶地区和加纳沃尔特地区学童健康状况的调查。研究了两个年龄段的男女儿童：8 - 9岁和12 - 13岁。儿童自身对其健康状况的认知往往较差。这一点在生物医学调查中得到了证实。有常见证据表明存在因营养不良、贫血、寄生虫感染和微量营养素缺乏导致的慢性健康问题。两个年龄段的年长组儿童（身高别年龄Z评分低于美国国家卫生统计中心参考值2个标准差）的发育迟缓情况均显著高于年幼组，这表明在整个学龄期线性生长仍持续受阻。贫血情况较为普遍：加纳38%的儿童和坦桑尼亚75%的儿童血红蛋白水平低于120g/L。年幼儿童比年长儿童更易患贫血，但未观察到性别间的显著差异。导致失血的蠕虫感染（埃及血吸虫和钩虫）很常见，加纳只有37%的儿童、坦桑尼亚只有14%的儿童没有蠕虫感染迹象。在加纳，71%的儿童尿碘浓度较低；在坦桑尼亚为38%。健康问题负担表明，这些国家实施驱虫药和微量营养素补充剂发放的学校健康计划有潜力改善学童的健康、生长和学业成绩。
