Low birthweight and impaired growth to 5 years in Australian Aborigines
Corresponding Author
M. GRACEY MD, PhD, FRACP
Associate Professor of Paediatrics
Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
Assoc. Prof. M. Gracey, Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, GPO Box D184, Perth, WA 6001, Australia.Search for more papers by this authorC. M. ANDERSON MD, MSc
Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
Search for more papers by this authorB. BROOKS BSc(Hons), Grad Dip Comp
Health Statistician
Planning and Research, Health Department of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
M. GRACEY MD, PhD, FRACP
Associate Professor of Paediatrics
Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
Assoc. Prof. M. Gracey, Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, GPO Box D184, Perth, WA 6001, Australia.Search for more papers by this authorC. M. ANDERSON MD, MSc
Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children
Search for more papers by this authorB. BROOKS BSc(Hons), Grad Dip Comp
Health Statistician
Planning and Research, Health Department of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Abstract Twelve per cent of Aboriginal infants born in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in 1980 were of low birthweight; this is more than twice the incidence in the non-Aboriginal population of Western Australia. There was widespread faltering of growth (weight and height) after 6 months of age in Aboriginal children whether they were of normal or low birthweight. Growth retardation was more marked in low birthweight babies who showed little evidence of ‘catch-up’growth in the first 5 years of life.
References
- 1 Gracey M. The nutrition of Australian Aborigines. In M.L. Wahlqvist, A.S. Truswell, eds, Recent Advances in Clinical Nutrition. John Libbey, London . 1986; 57–68.
- 2 Gracey M. Aborigines and health. Med. J. Aust. 1985; 143 (Suppl.): S43–4.
- 3 Gracey M., Murray H., Hitchcock N.E., Owles E.N., Murphy B.P. The nutrition of Aboriginal infants and young children. Nutr. Res. 1983; 3: 133–47.
- 4 Cox J.W. Growth characteristics of preschool Aboriginal children. Aust. Paediatr. J. 1979; 15: 10–5.
- 5 Hitchcock N.E., Gracey M., Maller R.A., Spargo R.M. Physical size of 1887 Aboriginal schoolchildren in the Kimberley region. Med. J. Aust. 1987; 146: 415–9.
- 6 Thomson N. Aboriginal health: current status. Aust. N.Z. J. Med. 1984; 14: 705–18.
- 7 Mate L. The children of Santa Maria Cauqué. MIT Press, Cambridge , MA . 1978.
- 8 King R.A., Smith R.M., Spargo R.M. Dietary patterns of Aboriginal children in the Kimberley. Proc. Nutr. Soc. Aust. 1985; 10: 13.
- 9 Seward J.F., Stanley F.J. Comparison of births to Aboriginal and Caucasian mothers in Western Australia. Med. J. Aust. 1981; 2: 80–4.
- 10
Propert D.N.,
Edmonds R.,
Parsons P.A.
Birth weights and growth rates up to one year for full-blood and mixed-blood Australian Aboriginal children.
Aust. Paediatr. J.
1968; 4: 134–43.
10.1111/j.1440-1754.1968.tb01742.x Google Scholar
- 11 Gogna N.K., Smiley M., Walker A.C., Fullerton P. Low birthweight and mortality in Australian Aboriginal babies at the Royal Darwin Hospital: A 15 year study. Aust. Paediatr. J. 1986; 22: 281–4.
- 12 Roberts D., Gracey M., Spargo R.M. Growth and morbidity in children in a remote Aboriginal community in north-west Australia. Med. J. Aust. 1988; 148: 68–71.
- 13 National Center for Health Statistics. NCHS growth curves for children, birth to 18 years. US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Publication No. (PHS) 70–1650. Washington , D.C. 1977.
- 14 National Health & Medical Research Council. Report of the 101st Session. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra . 1986.
- 15 Hitchcock N.E., Gracey M., Gilmour A.I., Owles E.N. Nutrition and Growth in Infancy and Early Childhood. Monographs in Paediatrics. Karger, Basel . 1986.
- 16 Villar J., Belizian J.M. The relative contribution of prematurity and fetal growth retardation to low birth weight in developing and developed societies. Amer. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 1982; 143: 793–8.
- 17 Stanley F.J., Bedford J.E. Maternal and Child Health in Western Australia, 1968–1983. Public Health Department, Perth . 1984.
- 18 Lumley J., Correy J.F., Newman N.M., Curran J.T. Low birth weight in Tasmania, 1975–1983. The effect of socioeconomic status. Aust. Paediatr. J. 1985; 21; 13–4.
- 19 Macfarlane A., Chalmers I. Problems in the interpretation of perinatal mortality statistics. In D. Hull, ed., Recent Advances in Paediatrics. Churchill Livingstone, London . 1981.
- 20 Wilson R.S. Growth and development of human twins. In F. Falkner, J.M. Tanner, eds., Human Growth, 2nd Edn. Plenum Press, New York . 1986; 197–211.
- 21 Martorell R., Habicht J.P. Growth in early childhood in developing countries. In F. Falkner, J.M. Tanner, eds, Human Growth, 2nd Edn. Plenum Press, New York . 1986; 241–62.
- 22 Eveleth P.B. Population differences in growth. Environmental and genetic factors. In F. Falkner, J.M. Tanner, eds, Human Growth, 2nd Edn. Plenum Press, New York . 1986; 221–39.
- 23 Gayle H.D., Dibley M.J., Marks J.S., Trowbridge F.L. Malnutrition in the first two years of life. The contribution of low birth weight to population estimates in the United States. Amer. J. Dis. Child. 1987; 141: 531–4.
- 24 Bjerre I. Physical growth of 5-year-old children with a low birth weight. Acta Paediatr. Scand. 1975; 64: 33–43.
- 25 Fledelius H.C. Inhibited growth and development as permanent features of low birth weight. Acta Paediatr. Scand. 1982; 71: 645–50.
- 26 Nilsen S.T., Finne P.H., Bersjø P., Stamnes O. Males with low birthweight examined at 18 years of age. Acta Paediatr. Scand. 1984; 73: 168–75.
- 27 Westwood M., Kramer M.S., Munz D., Lovett J.M., Watters G.V. Growth and development of full-term nonasphyxiated small-for-gestational-age newborns: Follow-up through adolescence, Pediatrics 1983; 71: 376–82.
- 28 Gracey M., Burke V., Robinson J. Patterns of intestinal infection in Australian Aboriginal children. Ann. Trop. Paediatr. 1983; 3: 35–9.
- 29 Gracey M., Spargo R.M., Bottrell C., Hammond K., Mulholland K., Valentine J. Maternal and childhood nutrition among Aborigines of the Kimberley region. Med. J. Aust. 1984; 141: 506–8.
- 30 Cockington R.A. Growth of Australian Aboriginal children related to social circumstances. Aust. N.Z. J. Med. 1980; 10: 199–208.
Citing Literature
