Undernutrition among Bedouin Arab children: a follow-up of the Bedouin Infant Feeding Study.
After 10 y of urban settlement, 680 Bedouin Arab children, who had had anthropometric assessment from birth (1981-1982) through early childhood, were reassessed in 1991-1992 to compare the rates of stunting in early and later childhood as well as to describe the factors influencing current height-for-age. Stunting had dropped from 32.7% at 18 mo to 7.2% at 10 y in the 1981 birth cohort and dropped from 17.5% at 9 mo to 8.2% at 9 y in the 1982 birth cohort. Based on a multiple-linear-regression analysis, height in early childhood and maternal height were statistically significantly and positively associated with current mean height-for-age in both cohorts. In the 1982 cohort socioeconomic status in early childhood was positively and current family size was negatively and significantly associated with current mean height-for-age. Thus, conditions that were present in early childhood had the largest influence on current height. In 1992, 10% and 6% of the infant siblings of the 1981 and 1982 cohorts, respectively, were stunted compared with 17% and 1% of the siblings aged 1-2 y of the respective cohorts. Therefore, the high rates of early childhood stunting in 1981-1982 appeared to be a birth cohort-specific phenomenon.
Forman
M R
MR
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD.
Hundt
G L
GL
Berendes
H W
HW
Abu-Saad
K
K
Zangwill
L
L
Chang
D
D
Bellmaker
I
I
Abu-Saad
I
I
Graubard
B I
BI
D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005006:Ethnicity; D005190:Family; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007557:Israel; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors