1,721,044 research outputs found
New approaches for measuring plasma or serum antioxidant capacity: a methodological note
No full text
Assessment of bias in national growth monitoring data: a case study in Zimbabwe
No full textThis study assesses the extent to which children under five years of age attending a growth-monitoring program are representative of the population as a whole. Bias in the prevalence of underweight estimated through growth monitoring is assessed by comparing data from the program with prevalence estimates from the community based Demographic and Health Surveys of 1988 and1994. Geographic patterns of attendance at growth monitoring are also examined through a comparison with census data, and trends in growth-monitoring data are also assessed. Provincial and national estimates of the prevalence of underweight from the two sources were not significantly different in 1988, but significant differences in prevalence estimates were identified in 1994. This suggests that growth-monitoring attendees were less representative of the general population in 1994 than at the start of the study period. The methodology used is transferable elsewhere, since the same data sets exist for many other African countrie
Effect of acute ingestion of fresh and stored lettuce on plasma total antioxidant capacity and antioxidant levels in humans
No full textApplication of a new high-performance liquid chromatographic method for measuring selected polyphenols in human plasma
No full textSeasonal aspects of weight-for-age in young children in Zimbabwe
No full textObjective: To identify the season with the highest prevalence of underweight among
young children and to examine geographical variation in seasonality of underweight.
Design: This analysis is based on monthly data from a clinic-based growth
monitoring programme that forms part of the National Health Information System.
A regression-based technique is used to identify seasonal patterns in both
underweight prevalence and attendance nationally and in 60 different districts.
Setting: The analysis covers the period 1988±1995 and is based in Zimbabwe.
Subjects: The analysis is based on weight-for-age measurements of Zimbabwean
children less than 5 years old, who attended health centres as part of a growth
monitoring programme.
Results: Nationally, a small but significant increase in levels of underweight takes
place during January±March. Participation in growth monitoring also varies
seasonally and could account for the increase observed. No evidence of seasonal
variation in underweight prevalence is found in the majority of districts studied,
although 11 of the districts showed a similar pattern to the national data set. This
peak in the incidence of poor nutritional status also coincides with the period of food
scarcity before harvest, which is also associated with higher prevalence of diarrhoea
and malaria. No differences in seasonality of under-nutrition were found between
districts with predominantly subsistence agriculture and those with more commercial
forms of agriculture.
Conclusions: Seasonal variation in child weight-for-age exists in some parts of
Zimbabwe, but its effects on cross-sectional prevalence studies are likely to be small.
There are no readily discernible differences between areas that show evidence of
seasonality in levels of underweight and those that do not
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