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Risk Factors of Malnutrition among Karen Children in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Intercountry Centre for Oral Health, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 1 Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 2 Intercountry Centre for Oral Health, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
- 3 Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 4 Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 5 Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- 6 Biostatistics and Applied Statistics Laboratory, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Open Journal of Statistics·Volume 06 (2016)·Pages 756–765·Published 22 September 2016·DOI10.4236/ojs.2016.65062
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Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors of malnutrition and its association with iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among Karen hill tribe children. We conducted a study on blood samples from children from Baan Yang Poa School, Chiang Mai, Thailand aged between 9 and 15 years old. Of 193 children, 31 (16.1%) had malnutrition and 12 (6.2%) had IDA. Children who had at least five family members were found to have a significantly higher risk of malnutrition (P = 0.005), a reflection of the importance of socioeconomic factors in the problem of malnutrition. We also found that malnutrition was not associated with IDA although the assessment of the association of malnutrition and other types of anaemia is still of interest.
KeywordsIron Deficiency AnaemiaKaren Hill Tribe ChildrenConsumption BehavioursKnowledgeBelief
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