Growth trend of infants of adolescents mothers

Authors

  • Paulo Rogério Gallo Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Saúde Pública; Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil
  • Claudio Leone Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Saúde Pública; Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil
  • Hugo Amigo Universidade do Chile; Faculdade de Medicina; Departamento de Nutrição

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.19919

Keywords:

mother, adolescent, disabled children, stature by age

Abstract

OBJETIVE: to compare the growth of children of adolescent mothers with that of children of adult mothers in the first two years of life. METHODS: A historical cohort study, carried out between 1998 and 2000, comparing the growth of 2 groups of children from birth to two years. One group is constituted by children of adolescent mothers (n=127) and the other, by children of adult mothers (n=181). Both groups were regularly monitored in two Basic Health Units of the University of São Paulo, which attend a typical target group that seeks assistance in public health services. The weight and length data were analyzed in Z scores (NCHS/WHO). Growth curves for each child were modeled based on regression equations from birth up to two years of age. RESULTS: At birth and at 24 months of age, the groups were anthropometrically similar, but their measures were below the NCHS referential data (p<0.001). However, throughout the two years the two groups showed a different growth rhythm, with the growth deficit presented by the adolescents' children being manifested by a tendency for distancing from the referential data (p=0.0008). CONCLUSION: The children of adolescent mothers have a worse growth performance compared with that of the children of adult mothers in the first two years of life.

Downloads

Published

2009-08-01

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2009)

Section

Original Research

License

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JOURNAL  PUBLISHERS

 

Publishers who are Committee on Publication Ethics members and who support COPE membership for journal editors should:

 

Publishers should:

 

  • Define the relationship between publisher, editor and other parties in a contract
  • Respect privacy (for example, for research participants, for authors, for peer reviewers)
  • Protect intellectual property and copyright
  • Foster editorial independence

 

Publishers should work with journal editors to:

 

  • Set journal policies appropriately and aim to meet those policies, particularly with respect to:

–         Editorial  independence

–         Research ethics, including confidentiality, consent, and the special requirements for human and animal research

–         Authorship

–         Transparency and integrity (for example, conflicts of interest, research funding, reporting standards

–         Peer review and the role of the editorial team beyond that of the journal editor

–         Appeals and complaints

  • Communicate journal policies (for example, to authors, readers, peer reviewers)
  • Review journal policies periodically, particularly with respect to new recommendations from the COPE
  • Code of Conduct for Editors and the COPE Best Practice Guidelines
  • Maintain the integrity of the academic record
  • Assist the parties (for example, institutions, grant funders, governing bodies) responsible for the investigation of suspected research and publication misconduct and, where possible, facilitate in the resolution of these cases
  • Publish corrections, clarifications, and retractions
  • Publish content on a timely basis