Persistent growth faltering among Aboriginal infants and young children in north-west Australia : a retrospective study from 1969 to 1993

The objective was to examine long-term changes in the growth of Aboriginal infants and young children in the Kimberley region in the far north-west of Australia from 1969 to 1993. A retrospective analysis of anthropometric data (weight and length) routinely collected on 0-5-year-old children in 5-ye...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta pædiatrica (Oslo) 1997, Vol.86 (1), p.46-50
Main Authors: ROUSHAM, E. K, GRACEY, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Anthropology. Demography
Anthropometry
Biological and medical sciences
Breast Feeding
Child Nutrition Disorders - ethnology
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
Communicable Diseases - ethnology
Female
Growth Disorders - ethnology
Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Medical sciences
Nutrition Surveys
Reference Values
Retrospective Studies
Western Australia - epidemiology
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Summary:The objective was to examine long-term changes in the growth of Aboriginal infants and young children in the Kimberley region in the far north-west of Australia from 1969 to 1993. A retrospective analysis of anthropometric data (weight and length) routinely collected on 0-5-year-old children in 5-year cohorts from 1969 to 1993 was carried out. From 1974-78 to 1989-93 there has been a significant increase in mean birthweight (ANOVA p < 0.05). The percentage of low birthweight infants (< 2500 g) declined from 14% in 1979-83 to 10% in 1989-93 (p < 0.001). There were no consistent improvements in the growth patterns of infants from birth to 60 months. All cohorts displayed pronounced growth faltering in weight-for-age and height-for-age from 6 to 12 months of age and fell significantly below both the NCHS reference values and mean values for healthy breastfed infants. In conclusion, reductions in Aboriginal infant mortality and infectious disease rates over the past 20 years have not been accompanied by improved growth. The persistence of child malnutrition in these communities may warrant a shift in attention from disease treatment and prevention to a better understanding of nutritional influences, particularly weaning practices, during infancy and early childhood.
ISSN:0803-5253
1651-2227
DOI:10.1111/j.1651-2227.1997.tb08830.x