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DC Field | Value | Language |
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dc.contributor.author | Pathmeswaran, A. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Jayatissa, R. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Samarasinghe, S. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Fernando, A. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | de Silva, R.P. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Thattil, R.O. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | de Silva, N.R. | en_US |
dc.date.accessioned | 2014-10-29T09:23:04Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2014-10-29T09:23:04Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2005 | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | The Ceylon Medical Journal. 2005; 50(2): pp.46-50 | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 0009-0875 (Print) | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/1676 | - |
dc.description | Indexed in MEDLINE | - |
dc.description.abstract | 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. | en_US |
dc.publisher | Sri Lanka Medical Association | en_US |
dc.title | Health status of primary school children in Sri Lanka | en_US |
dc.type | Research Paper | en_US |
dc.identifier.department | Public Health | en_US |
dc.identifier.department | Parasitology | en_US |
dc.creator.corporateauthor | Sri Lanka Medical Association | en_US |
Appears in Collections: | Journal/Magazine Articles |
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