Perímetro cefálico de crianças das populações remanescentes dos quilombos do estado de Alagoas, segundo adequação estatural, peso ao nascer e exposição ao aleitamento materno.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate if the head circumference of stunted quilombolas children differs from that other children with adequate linear growth and if the insufficient birth weight and exclusive breastfeeding in the first month of life intervene with this relation. Methods: The work followed a transversal studying involving all the children of 12 to 60 months (n=725) pertaining to the quilombolas community of Alagoas (n=39). Variables demographics, socioeconomics, of the health and anthropometrics indices had been collected. These had been compared with the curves of the standard of reference of the of WHO 2006. The children had been categorized into two groups in agreement with the presence or not of the malnutrition (stunted/eutrophic), diagnosed by means of the height deficit (height-for-age < -2,0 SD). Each group was divided in two sub-groups agreements the insufficient birth weight (IBW < 3000g). Finally, each sub-group formed two other categories according to the exposition or not to the exclusive breastfeeding in the first month of life (breastfeeding/ not breastfeeding). Thus, eight groups of studies were formed, which, for the statistics analysis, had been expresses as ordinary category variables (1 a 8), group 1 was formed for the children submitted to worst conditions (undernutrition, with IBW and that weren t to breastfed) and group 8 for the best ones (eutrophic with adequate birth weight and that was to breastfed). The average of the head circumferencefor- age (HC) was compared using ANOVA and the Turkey test as pos-hoc. For this, group 8 was assumed as control. To investigate the principal risk factors associated to the occurrence of the deficit of HC (z < 1.5), regression logistic analyze was used, remaining in the last model the independent variables which associations presented p<0.05. Results: The prevalence of nutritional deficits for indicators height-for-age, weight-forage, weight-for-height and head circumference-for-age was respectively of 10.8%, 1.9%, 1.3% e 10.5%. The overweight (weigh-for-age > 2 SD) represents 6.4%. The averages of Z-score of the head circumference for the groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 e 8 was -1.67*, -1.09, - 0.97, -0.94, -1.02, -0.69, -0.68 e -0.53 respectively. Group 1 was the unique that presented statistics differences (p< 0,05) compared to the control group, suggesting the protective role of breasting against reduction of the HC, when the presence of the chronic malnutrition (express for height deficit) in children that were born with IBW, because the exposition to exclusive breastfeeding was the unique differential used on the formation of the groups 1 and 2. On the multivaried analyzis, the factors that were significantly associated to deficit of HC were the stunted, the insufficient birth weight, the feminine sex and the increase of chronological age in one month increase the chances of occurrence these outcomes in 119%, 77%, 63% e 2% respectively. But the increase of time of the exclusive breastfeeding in one month reduces the possibilities in 10%. Conclusions: The children who are stunted, are born with insufficient weight and that they had not been was exposed to exclusive breastfeeding for one month, demonstrate consistently the worst averages of Z-score of head circumference when compared to children not submitted to stress . In this context, the exposition of breastfeeding per for one month possibly, of the central nervous system. Although traditional population have been considered, the average time of the exclusive breastfeeding was behind of the praised for the WHO. Thus, it was suggested the more investments on the direction of the increase the period of the exposition to exclusive breastfeeding between the quilombolas children of the Alagoas state.