Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item Nutritional status of tea pluckers.on Norwood Estate, Hatton(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2003) Selvaratnam, R.R.; Pathmeswaran, A.; de Silva, I.D.R.; de Silva, N.R.OBJECTIVES: To determine the nutritional status of tea pluckers and to identify factors contributing to anaemia, METHODS: All women tea pluckers of 5 randomly selected divisions of Norwood Estate in Bogawantalawa Plantations, Hatton, were recruited. A dietary survey was carried out using 24 hours recall method. Measurements of height and weight were taken. Haemoglobin (Hb) level in finger prick blood was measured by cyanmethaemoglobin method. Stools were examined for helminth eggs using saline smears and the Kato-Katz technique. Data were analyzed using Epilnfo 6 and SPSS 10. RESULTS: A total of 304 women with a mean age of 37.8 years (SD=8.4) were examined. Mean calorie, protein and iron adequacy were 52.5%, 45.9% and 45.9% respectively. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 18.3 (SD=2.5), while 59.9 % (n=181) were undernourished (BMI<18.5). The mean Hb was 11.02 g/dl (SD=1.45); 76% (n=231) were anaemic (Hb<12 g/dl). 25/248 (10.1%) stool samples examined were hookworm positive. Several variables had a significant association with Hb in bivariate analysis. As most of the variables were related, multiple regression analysis was carried out to identify independent predictor variables. This showed that dietary iron and calorie adequacy, the number of children, and the number of children below 5 years of age, but not hookworm infection, had an independent significant association with Hb. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the study population had evidence of chronic under nutrition as indicated by low BMI and anaemia. Dietary inadequacy of iron appears to contribute more significantly to anaemia than hookworm.infection.Item Nutritional status and productivity of tea pluckers in Norwood Estate, Hatton(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2003) de Silva, N.R.; Selvaratnam, R.R.; Pathmeswaran, A.; de Silva, L.D.R.OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of nutritional status on the productivity of tea pluckers in Norwood estate. METHODS: All women tea pluckers of 5 randomly selected divisions of Norwood Estate in Bogawantalawa Plantations, Hatton were recruited. Nutritional status was assessed by measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI) and haemoglobin levels (Hb). The daily weight of tea leaves plucked, and the number of days worked by each woman during November and December 2001 were recorded. Productivity was calculated as average weight of tea leaves plucked per month. Data were analyzed using Epilnfo 6 and SPSS 10. RESULTS: A total of 304 women were recruited to the study. The majority (59.9%) had a low BMI (<18.5), while 76% were anaemic (Hb <12.0 g/dl). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between monthly productivity and Hb levels (Pearson's R = 0.81) but not with BMI. Different regression models were applied to the data to predict the monthly amount of tea plucked in kg. The simplest model using Hb as the only predictor variable revealed that variation in Hb level accounted for 65% of variation in productivity (adjusted R2=0.651). An increase in Hb by 1 g/dl was associated with an increase of 37 kg of tea leaves plucked per month. CONCLUSIONS: Decrease in haemoglobin levels is strongly associated with a decrease in individual productivity of female tea pluckers as indicated by the average weight of tea leaves plucked per month.