[Prevalence of low height and related risk factors in school children from Corrientes (Argentina)].
BACKGROUND
Height is the anthropometric indicator that best reflects the interaction between genetic and environmental factors.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to measure height and to identify risk factors for low height in school children from Corrientes in Argentina.


METHODS
Between March and December 2000, a cross-sectional study was performed in 2,282 school children of both sexes, aged 6-14 years old, from two inner-city schools and two schools in the outskirts of the city. The variables studied were age, height, weight, birth weight, breastfeeding, maternal education and socioeconomic status. The values for height were turned into Z scores, and then compared with the reference standards of the National Center for Health Statistics in the United States. The statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-squared test for qualitative variables and ANOVA for quantitative variables. A significance of p < 0.05 was accepted.


RESULTS
Prevalence of height below 2 standard deviation units and below 1 standard deviation unit was 4.6 % and 25.1 %, respectively. Maternal illiteracy, low birth weight, absence of breastfeeding and low socioeconomic status were significantly associated with low height.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of low height in this study was similar to that in other Latin-American countries. In our study the absence of breastfeeding, maternal illiteracy, low birth weight and low socioeconomic status were risk factors for low height.
Poletti
O H
OH
Departamento de Ciencias Básicas. Cátedra I de Fisiología Humana. Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Corrientes. Argentina. opoletti@med.unne.edu.ar
Barrios
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D001118:Argentina; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005183:Failure to Thrive / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors