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Malnutrition and its association with intellectual coefficient in children from a school in Seville de oro. Province of Azuay, Ecuador, 2023 [Version 2; Peer Review-Approved]

Abstract:

Introduction: in Ecuador malnutrition is considered a public health problem since it affects approximately one in four children. This figure increases in the Inter-Andean region, since it is influenced by the socioeconomic situation or diet, causing problems in cognitive development due to the compromise of their IQ. Objective: to determine malnutrition and its association with IQ in schoolchildren from 6 to 10 years of age from two rural schools in the Sevilla de Oro canton in the province of Azuay, Ecuador. Methodology: observational, analytical, cross-sectional study. As a sample, 119 children from 6 to 10 years old were used, selected by stratified random sampling. The World Health Organization parameters for weight and height were used, which determined the body mass index for the location in the corresponding percentile. To assess the IQ, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) was applied. Results: 7,6 % of the study population presented malnutrition, of which 63,9 % were below average in IQ. The statistical association test used was chi-square, with a p value of 0,856. Conclusions: there was no statistically significant association between malnutrition and below average IQ.