Survey of the present health & nutritional status of Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar Island

Shompens are one of the two mongoloid tribes of Nicobar district. There is little information about their recent health status since the last survey which was conducted in 1998. Hence, a comprehensive health and nutritional survey was conducted in March 2017 to assess the changes. The survey was car...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Indian journal of medical research (New Delhi, India : 1994) India : 1994), 2024-01, Vol.159 (1), p.35-42
Main Authors: Vijayachari, Paluru, Awaradi, S, Siddaraju, H M, Nithin, K, Veerendra, S S, Babu, U Suresh, Chander, M Punnam, Kartick, C, Anwesh, M, Sugunan, A P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Body mass index
Child
Female
Health Status
Humans
Hypertension
Infections
Male
Malnutrition
Measles
Nutrition
Nutritional Status
Programme: Original
Rubella
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Tropical diseases
Tuberculosis
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Summary:Shompens are one of the two mongoloid tribes of Nicobar district. There is little information about their recent health status since the last survey which was conducted in 1998. Hence, a comprehensive health and nutritional survey was conducted in March 2017 to assess the changes. The survey was carried out by a joint team of various organizations including the ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre and Tribal Welfare and Health Department both located in Port Blair. A detailed health and nutrition survey of the Shompen community was planned by deputing a field research team. The survey included demographic data, anthropometric data, clinical examination, screening for the markers of infectious diseases, respiratory pathogens, tuberculosis and haemoglobinopathies. About half of the Shompen adults (both males and females) had a body mass index (BMI) of ≥23. However, Shompen children had a good nutritional status with no child suffering from undernutrition. As per BMI for age, none of the children
ISSN:0971-5916
0975-9174
DOI:10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_3193_21