title: Facing malnutrition and poverty: evaluating the CONIN experience.
abstract: The Undernutrition Prevention Center (UPC) of the Corporation for Childhood Nutrition (CONIN) assists children from 0-3 years of age who present with primary or secondary undernutrition. The aim of the retrospective study reported here was to complete a nutritional, cognitive, and social evaluation of UPC children in Mendoza, Argentina, from 1996 to 2005. During the study period, a total of 478 schoolchildren aged 5-17 years (186 in the CONIN group and 292 in the non-CONIN group) were evaluated. Although no differences in weight and height were found between the groups, the percentage of children below the cutoff level for the maturity test was significantly lower in the CONIN group (10.8% versus 17.6%; P = 0.043). CONIN provides important social support to families through work qualification programs and health education.
authors.affiliation: NGO Nutrition Without Borders, Barcelona, and the Nutrition Research Group, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortiz-Andrellucchi
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peña-Quintana
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saavedra-Santana
authors.forename: Abel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albino-Beñacar
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Monckeberg-Barros
authors.forename: Liuis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Serra-Majem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001118:Argentina; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D011203:Poverty; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012944:Social Support