ABSTRACT
Objective:
To investigate the current situation and related factors of
children's
growth and development in
drinking-
water-borne endemic fluorosis areas after
water improvement, and provide a basis for improving the control
strategies.
Methods:
The stratified random sampling
method was used to select
children aged 7 to 13 in villages with different years of
water improvement in Xi'an from November 2019 to June 2020. The height and weight of
children were measured, and
body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The height development level of
children was graded according to the "Standard for Height Level
Classification among
Children and
Adolescents Aged 7 - 18 Years" (WS/T 612-2018), and the physical development (BMI) level of
children was determined according to the "Comprehensive Evaluation of Development Level for
Children and
Adolescents" (GB/T 31178-2014). At the same
time, according to the standard of "
Diagnosis of
Dental Fluorosis" (WS/T 208-2011), the
diagnosis of
dental fluorosis in
children was performed. The
serum fluoride level was determined by
ion selective electrode method, and the levels of other chemical
elements (
calcium,
iron,
magnesium,
copper,
zinc,
iodine,
selenium,
lead,
arsenic,
cadmium,
chromium,
mercury,
nickel) in
blood were determined by inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometry.
Results:
A total of 469
children were included in the investigation. After
water improvement, 67.38% (316/469) of the
children in the
disease area were at the moderate level of height development, 7.89% (37/469) were at the medium to upper and upper levels, and 24.73% (116/469) were at the medium to lower and lower levels. The BMI of the
children in the
emaciation group was 8.53% (40/469), while it was 10.87% (51/469) in the
overweight group and 8.74% (41/469) in the
obesity group. There was statistically significant difference in the distribution of height development level of
children in areas with different
water improvement years ( P = 0.005), but no statistically significant difference in BMI distribution ( P = 0.154). There was no significant difference in height development level and BMI distribution of
children with or without
dental fluorosis ( P > 0.05). There were significant differences in
serum levels of
iron and
zinc among
children with different height development levels ( P < 0.05). There were significant differences in
serum levels of
magnesium,
copper,
iodine and
chromium among
children with different BMI ( P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
The
growth and development of
children in
drinking-
water-borne endemic fluorosis area after
water improvement are not correlated with the
prevalence of
dental fluorosis, but may be related to the levels of chemical
elements such as
iron,
magnesium,
copper, and
iodine in the body.
