Gross motor development and malnutrition in Ecuadorian children: A cross-sectional study

Abstract:

Objective: The objective of the present work was to study the relationship between malnutrition and gross motor development. Methodology: Sample included 6087 infants under 24 months of age, participants of the ENSANUT-ECU study. To evaluate nutritional status we calculated z-scores by sex for body mass index/age (BAZ) and height/age (HAZ). Six gross motor milestones were evaluated: sitting without support, crawling, standing and walking with support, standing and walking without support. Data was analyzed using logistic regression models in R. Results: Independently form age, sex and other socio-economic factors, the achievement of three gross motor milestones was signi cantly associated to nutritional status: sitting without support, crawling and walking without support. Compared to infants with normal HAZ, the odds of sitting without support was signi cantly lower among infants at risk of chronic undernutrition (OR, 0.688; 95% CI, 0.496–0.954) or with chronic undernutrition (OR, 0.601; 95% CI, 0.433–0.833). The odds of crawling (OR, 0.730; 95% CI, 0.635–0.860) and walking alone (OR, 0.741; 95% CI, 0.590–0.933) were also signi cantly lower among infants with chronic undernutrition in comparison to infants with normal HAZ. In general obesity/overweight were not associated with the achievement of gross motor milestones, except for sitting without support. Obese infants showed higher a odds of sitting without assistance in comparison with children with normal BAZ (OR, 1.650; 95% CI, 1.160–2.245). Conclusions: Chronic undernutrition is related to delayed gross motor development. In Ecuador, public health measures are …

Año de publicación:

2022

Keywords:

Fuente:

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