This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Akpede, G.O. Articles by Ambe, J.P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Rickets and deprivation: a Nigerian study

Department of Paediatrics, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria

B.A. Omotara

Department of Community Medicine, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria

J.P. Ambe

Department of Paediatrics, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria

Under-fives in 461 households were assessed clinically to determine the prevalence of rickets in sub-urban and rural communities in the Sahel savanna. Overt rickets was found in 11 (2.4%) of households and abnormalities suggestive of rickets in 69 (14.9%). There were significant variations (p<0.05) in the prevalence of rickets in association with ethnic grouping (higher in southerners and non-Kanuri, non-Hausa-Fulani northerners), religion (more prevalent among Christians), and mother's occupation and educational status (higher with working class mothers and mothers with at least a primary education). A significantly higher prevalence was also associated with late introduction (at more than seven months of age) of cereals to the infant's diet, more than one under-five in a household and presence of under-fives aged 13-48 months. In contrast, no significant variations in prevalence were observed in association with duration of breast feeding, use of multivitamins or cod liver oil, history of convulsions in under-fives, sex, nutritional status, or history of diarrhoea within a recall period of six months.

Thus, rickets is common in under-fives in rural and sub-urban communities in the Sahel savanna and may be related more to enviromental and dietary factors than to culture and religion. Further studies are required to determine the relative roles of vitamin D or calcium deficiency to facilitate the planning and execution of a community-based intervendon programme in the area.

Key Words: Deprivation • nutrition • rickets • under-fives

The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol. 119, No. 4, 216-222 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/146642409911900403


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?