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Héctor Javier Sánchez-Pérez, Miguel A. Hernán, Adriana Ríos-González, Marcos Arana-Cedeño, Albert Navarro, Douglas Ford, Mark A. Micek, and Paula Brentlinger.  Malnutrition Among Children Younger Than 5 Years-Old in Conflict Zones of Chiapas, Mexico. American Journal of Public Health: February 2007, Vol. 97, No. 2, pp. 229-232.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.070409

Accepted on: Nov 22, 2005

Malnutrition Among Children Younger Than 5 Years-Old in Conflict Zones of Chiapas, Mexico

Héctor Javier Sánchez-Pérez, PhD, Miguel A. Hernán, MD, Adriana Ríos-González, MSc, Marcos Arana-Cedeño, MSc, Albert Navarro, MSc, Douglas Ford, JD, Mark A. Micek, MD, MPH, and Paula Brentlinger, MD

Héctor Javier Sánchez-Pérez is with the Department of Population and Health, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chiapas, México, and with Grups de Recerca d’Amèrica i d’Àfrica Llatines (GRAAL), Barcelona, Spain. Miguel A. Hernán is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass. Adriana Ríos-González is with the Department of Population and Health, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chiapas. Marcos Arana-Cedeño is with Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición y Ciencias Médicas, Salvador Zubirán Centro de Capacitación en Ecología y Salud para Campesinos-Defensoría Derechu a la Salud, and the General Foundation, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México. Albert Navarro is with GRAAL and with Laboratori de Bioestadística i d’Epidemiologia, Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona, España. Douglas Ford is with the University of Virginia School of Law/Legal Aid Justice Center, Charlottesville, Va. Mark A. Micek and Paula Brentlinger are with the Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.

Peer Reviewed

Contributors H.J. Sánchez-Pérez originated and designed the study, performed the fieldwork, analyzed and interpreted the data, and wrote the brief. M.A. Hernán and D. Ford participated in the origination and design of the study, in the analysis and interpretation of data, and in revising critically the important intellectual content of the brief. A. Ríos-González participated in the fieldwork, in the analysis and interpretation of data, and in preparation of the brief. M. Arana-Cedeño participated in the origination and design of the study, in the fieldwork, and in the writing of the brief. A. Navarro and M.A. Micek participated in the analysis and interpretation of data and in revising critically the important intellectual content of the brief. P. Brentlinger participated in the origination and design of the study, in the analysis and interpretation of data, in revising critically the important intellectual content of the brief, and in drafting the final version.


ABSTRACT

We performed a cross-sectional, community-based survey, supplemented by interviews with community leaders in Chiapas, Mexico, to examine the prevalence and predictors of child malnutrition in regions affected by the Zapatista conflict.

The prevalence rates of stunting, wasting, and underweight were 54.1%, 2.9%, and 20.3%, respectively, in 2666 children aged younger than 5 years. Stunting was associated with indigenous ethnicity, poverty, region of residence, and intracommunity division. The results indicate that malnutrition is a serious public health problem in the studied regions.