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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty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 and productivity of Sri Lankan tea pluckers(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2003) Selvaratnam, R.R.; de Silva, L.D.R.; Pathmeswaran, A.; de Silva, N.R.OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of nutritional status on productivity of tea pluckers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, analytical. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS OF STUDY: All tea pluckers in five divisions of a tea estate in Hatton. MEASUREMENTS: A dietary survey was conducted using the 24 h dietary recall method. Nutritional status was assessed by measurement of body mass index (BMI) and haemoglobin (Hb) levels, and faeces were examined for helminth ova. The daily weight of tea leaves plucked and the number of days worked by each woman during the preceding month were noted from production records. RESULTS: Three hundred and four women (mean age 37.8 years, SD 8.4) were examined. The majority (59.9%) had evidence of chronic energy deficiency (BMI < 18.5). Almost all (94.4%) were anaemic (Hb < 13.3 g/dl, altitude adjusted cutoff). Mean daily iron intake was 8.7 mg (SD 2.3 mg), 45.9% of the national recommended dietary allowance. Only 10.1% had hookworm infection, all of light intensity. Multivariate regression analysis showed that dietary iron intake, the number of children and the number of children below 5 years, but not hookworm infection, were independently associated with Hb (p < 0.05). There was a strong positive correlation between monthly productivity and Hb, but not with BMI. Variation in Hb levels accounted for 65% of variation in productivity (adjusted R2 = 0.651). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the study population had chronic energy deficiency and anaemia. Dietary inadequacy of iron is a much more important causative factor than hookworm infection. Productivity was strongly associated with the degree of anaemia but not with BMI.Item Iron deficiency anaemia in infancy(College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka, 1995) Jayawardena, D.R.K.C.Anaemia may be caused not only by a deficiency of iron, but by other conditions as well. Indicates clinical detection of anaemia. Under recommended iron intakes discusses 2 types of dietary iron - haem iron and non haem iron, food fortification, factors that affect iron absorption, and enhancers and inhibitors.Item Iron deficiency anaemia in children aged 9-24 months a rural area in South of Sri Lanka(1995) Liyanage, C.E.; Thabrew, M.I.; Goonaratna, C.The prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia was examined in a group of 200 rural children, aged 9 to 24 months in the Galle district. Anaemia, defined as a haemoglobin concentration (Ob) less than 110 g/L, was present in 55 percent. Majority of the subjects (70 percent) had serum ferritin (SF) below normal. There was a correlation between the severity of anaemia and a stepwise decrease in serum iron, transferrin saturation and SF. The total iron intake of subjects was marginal; however, this did not show any association with the iron status in them. It is therefore, concluded that iron deficiency anaemia is a potentially serious consequence in children of weaning age and quality of weaning foods that are in practice have to be improved to maintain the iron balance.