Bone development in children living on house-boats on a river in Vietnam.
BACKGROUND
With the rapid urbanization of Vietnam, living on boats has come to be associated with underprivileged socioeconomic status, and there are major concerns regarding the health of children living under such conditions. Bone development is a critical concern in children because the foundation for skeletal health is established early in life. We evaluated the bone properties of children living under underprivileged conditions on boats in Hue City, Vietnam, with respect to a number of household factors.


METHODS
One hundred and twenty children aged 7-11 years selected randomly from households living on boats in Hue were included in this study. Tibial and radial speed of sound (SOS) were measured by non-invasive quantitative ultrasonometry. Socioeconomic profiles, health promotion proficiency, and nutritional intake of households were assessed by structured interview. The bone properties of 60 children aged 7-11 living on land were also assessed as controls.


RESULTS
The Z-scores of tibial and radial SOS of boat children were -0.16 +/- 0.89 and -0.24 +/- 0.75 (mean +/- SD), respectively. Tibial SOS exhibited a significant correlation with radial SOS (r = 0.39, P < 0.01). Among the household factors examined, the educational level of fathers (P < 0.05) and the health promotion proficiency (P < 0.05) of households exhibited positive associations with the tibial bone properties of the children. The tibial and radial SOS of boat children were lower than those of children living on land (P = 0.001 and P = 0.086, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study revealed the underdevelopment of bone properties in children living on houseboats, which was correlated with their living conditions.
Inose
Tomoko
T
Health Promotion, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Takano
Takehito
T
Nguyen
Quang Khac Luong
QK
Nakamura
Keiko
K
Watanabe
Masafumi
M
Seino
Kaoruko
K
D000465:Algorithms; D001846:Bone Development; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011203:Poverty; D011884:Radius / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D045483:Rivers; D012499:Sanitation; D012767:Ships; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013977:Tibia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology