OBJECTIVE: To assess health status of 9-10-year old school children in Sri Lanka. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, descriptive study. Schools were selected to obtain a sample representative at national and provincial levels and 20 children were randomly selected from Grade 5 classes in each school. MEASUREMENTS: Children were examined for Bitot's spots and goitre. Height, weight, and visual acuity were measured according to standard procedures. Haemoglobin level was measured using finger-prick blood and a HemoCue meter. Geohelminth infections were quantified by faecal examination using the modified Kato-Katz technique. Height for age Z-scores (HAZ) and body mass index (BMI) were calculated as indicators of nutritional status. RESULTS: Two thousand five hundred and twenty eight children (1351 boys) from 144 schools (140 state schools and four private schools) were examined. Nationally, 15.5% of children were stunted (HAZ lower than -2.0 SD); 52.6% were thin (BMI < 5th centile of age- and sex-matched reference population); 3.1% were overweight (BMI > 85th centile); 12.1% were anaemic; 0.3% had Bitot's spots; 3% had a visible or palpable goitre; 4.6% were shortsighted; and 6.9% had one or more soil-transmitted nematode infection. Among children on whom anthropometry, haemoglobin and faecal examinations were all done, 64.6% (1332/2063) were thin, stunted, anaemic or infected with worms. A much higher proportion of children in the Northern and Eastern provinces had health problems when compared to the other provinces. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of older primary schoolchildren in Sri Lanka are undernourished. Anaemia, vitamin A deficiency, iodine deficiency and soil-transmitted nematode infections affect a much smaller proportion of them.
OBJECTIVE: To assess health status of 9-10-year old school children in Sri Lanka. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, descriptive study. Schools were selected to obtain a sample representative at national and provincial levels and 20 children were randomly selected from Grade 5 classes in each school. MEASUREMENTS: Children were examined for Bitot's spots and goitre. Height, weight, and visual acuity were measured according to standard procedures. Haemoglobin level was measured using finger-prick blood and a HemoCue meter. Geohelminth infections were quantified by faecal examination using the modified Kato-Katz technique. Height for age Z-scores (HAZ) and body mass index (BMI) were calculated as indicators of nutritional status. RESULTS: Two thousand five hundred and twenty eight children (1351 boys) from 144 schools (140 state schools and four private schools) were examined. Nationally, 15.5% of children were stunted (HAZ lower than -2.0 SD); 52.6% were thin (BMI < 5th centile of age- and sex-matched reference population); 3.1% were overweight (BMI > 85th centile); 12.1% were anaemic; 0.3% had Bitot's spots; 3% had a visible or palpable goitre; 4.6% were shortsighted; and 6.9% had one or more soil-transmitted nematode infection. Among children on whom anthropometry, haemoglobin and faecal examinations were all done, 64.6% (1332/2063) were thin, stunted, anaemic or infected with worms. A much higher proportion of children in the Northern and Eastern provinces had health problems when compared to the other provinces. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of older primary schoolchildren in Sri Lanka are undernourished. Anaemia, vitamin A deficiency, iodine deficiency and soil-transmitted nematode infections affect a much smaller proportion of them.
Authors: Sharmini Gunawardena; Nipul K Gunawardena; Ganga Kahathuduwa; Nadira D Karunaweera; Nilanthi R de Silva; Udaya B Ranasinghe; Sandhya D Samarasekara; Kumara C Nagodavithana; Ramakrishna U Rao; Maria P Rebollo; Gary J Weil Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2014-02-03 Impact factor: 2.345
Authors: Manori Amarasekera; Nipul Kithsiri Gunawardena; Nilanthi Renuka de Silva; Jo Anne Douglass; Robyn Elizabeth O'Hehir; Anura Weerasinghe Journal: Asia Pac Allergy Date: 2012-04-30
Authors: Nushka Ubhayawardana; Ishani Gammana Liyanage; H M J C B Herath; Uthpala Amarasekera; Tilanka Dissanayake; Sujan de Silva; Nayana Fernando; Sriyani Ekanayake Journal: J Environ Public Health Date: 2018-06-10
Authors: Chesmal Siriwardhana; Gayani Pannala; Sisira Siribaddana; Athula Sumathipala; Robert Stewart Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2013-06-08 Impact factor: 3.295