Extended composite index of anthropometric failure in Argentinean preschool and school children.

OBJECTIVE: The Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) can only be applied to children under 5 years of age and does not contemplate obesity. The aim of this study was to propose an Extended CIAF (ECIAF) that combines the characterization of malnutrition due to undernutrition and excess weight, and apply it in six Argentine provinces. DESIGN: ECIAF excludes children not in anthropometric failure (group A) and was calculated from a percentage of children included in malnutrition categories B: wasting only; C: wasting and underweight; D: wasting, stunting and underweight; E: stunting and underweight; F: stunting only; Y: underweight only; G: only weight excess; and H: stunting and weight excess. SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted in Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chubut, Jujuy, Mendoza and Misiones (Argentina). PARTICIPANTS: 10 879 children of both sexes aged between 3 and 13·99. RESULTS: ECIAF in preschool children (3 to 4·99 years) was 15·1 %. The highest prevalence was registered in Mendoza (16·7 %) and the lowest in Misiones (12·0 %). In school children (5 to 13·99 years) ECIAF was 28·6 %. Mendoza also recorded the highest rate (30·7 %), while Catamarca and Chubut had the lowest values (27·0 %). In the whole sample, about 25 % of the malnutrition was caused by undernutrition and 75 % by excess weight. CONCLUSIONS: The ECIAF summarizes anthropometric failure by both deficiency and excess weight and it highlights that a quarter of the malnutrition in the Argentine population was caused by undernutrition, although there are differences between Provinces (P < 0·05). ECIAF estimates are higher than those of CIAF or under-nutrition.

Craniofacial catch-up growth in intrauterine growth retarded rats following postnatal nutritional rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of postnatal nutritional rehabilitation on the craniofacial growth in rats with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats were assigned to one of the following groups: control, Sham-operated, and IUGR. The IUGR was produced by uterine vessels bending (day 14 of pregnancy). At days 1, 21, 42, 63, and 84 of postnatal life, each animal was X-rayed, and neural and facial length, width and height were measured. Volumetric and morphometric indices were calculated. RESULTS: The decreased maternal-fetal blood flow during the last-third of the gestation period modified cranial size and shape of both sexes at birth. DISCUSSION: Postnatal nutritional rehabilitation is not fully sufficient to reverse the prenatal growth retardation. There are specific responses depending on the sex and the age of the IUGR pups. Regardless of the changes in size, the shape is not modified during all the postnatal period.

Body weight recovery in intrauterine growth-retarded rats treated with growth hormone.

The aim of this work was to analyze the action of growth hormone (GH) on postnatal body weight recovery in intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) rats. Wistar rats were assigned to three groups: 1) control; 2) IUGR and 3) sham-operated. Uterine vessels of dams in the IUGR group were partially bent on the 14th day of pregnancy. At weaning, some IUGR pups were randomly selected and injected with GH (3 mg/kg/day), up to the 60th day. A standard diet ad libitum was available to mothers and offspring. The animals were weighed and food intake was recorded weekly. The weight gained velocity and relative food intake (RFI) was calculated. IUGR animals showed significant lower body weights than the control group. GH treatment allowed body weight recovery in IUGR rats. In females, body weight increased 14 days before males, and the former had greater RFI values. In conclusion, our results indicated differences in sexual responses to GH treatment. There is a need for more research on the mechanisms involved in that sexual difference.

Effects of bilateral uterine vessel ligation on skeletal growth in rats.

The aim of the present study was to assess the catch-up growth in the postcranial skeleton of intrauterine growth retarded (IUGR) rats. Male and female Wistar rats were assigned to one of the following groups: controls, sham-operated, IUGR. The IUGR was produced by uterine vessels bending (day 14th of pregnancy). Trunk, pelvis, femur and humerus were measured on Rx of each animal, from I to 84 days of age. Data were processed by repeated analysis of variance and LSD post hoc test. The reduced placental blood flow disturbed the skeletal growth in pups, with the axial skeleton relatively more affected than the bones of the extremities. The catch up only took place in femur length of both sexes. The widths of long bones remained significantly retarded. We concluded that nutritional rehabilitation during the postnatal period might not be enough to allow a complete growth recovery.