Browsing by Author "Grantham-McGregor, Sally"

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    Effects of missing breakfast on the cognitive functions of school children of differing nutritional status
    (1990) Simeon, Donald T.; Grantham-McGregor, Sally
    The effects of omission of breakfast were examined in three groups of poor children aged 9- and 10-years-old—stunted (n=30), non-stunted controls (n=30), and previously severely malnourished (n=30). They were admitted to a metabolic ward on two occasions, one week apart. After an overnight fast, half the children received breakfast on their first visit and a cup of tea the second time. The treatment order was reversed the second time. The breakfast (590 Cals) comprised items from the Jamaican school-feeding programme. When breakfast was omitted, the stunted and previously severely malnourished groups responded similarly and differently from the control group. Both malnourished groups had lower scores in the fluency and visual short-term memory (coding) tests. In contrast, when fasted, the controls performed better in arithmetic and in problem-solving efficiency. The sample was then divided into wasted and non-wasted sets. When they missed breakfast, the wasted children were adversely affected in their performance of the digit span backwards test, a measure of auditory short-term memory with an immediate processing element. In addition, the wasted members of the malnourished groups were adversely affected in the efficiency of problem solving. The wasted controls also had lower scores in the digit span forward test (auditory short-term memory) when breakfast was omitted. All the findings remained when the children’s usual caloric intake for breakfast and their IQ’s were statistically controlled.
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    Maternal-child interaction in survivors or severe malnutrition who received psychosocial stimulation
    (The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, 1989) Grantham-McGregor, Sally; Schifield, W.; Haggard, D.
    Jamaican children who had recovered from severe malnutrition 3 years previously (CM group) were observed with their mothers in a structured play situation. Their behaviour was compared with two other groups; another severely malnourished group which has participated in an intervention programme of psycho-social stimulation (IM group) and an adequately nourished group (controls). All children were subjects in a longitudinal intervention study (Grantham-McGregor, Schofield & Powell, 1987). Both malnourished group’s DQ remained low but the IM group caught up to the controls. During the observation the CM children stayed nearer their mothers and played less than the children in other groups. It was hypothesized that this behaviour could have contributed to their poor development. The IM children behaved similarly to the controls. It is probable that non-nutritional intervention had changed their behaviour. Only little differences were found between the mothers.
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    Nutritional and Health Determinants of School Failure and Dropout in Adolescent Girls in Kingston, Jamaica
    (International Center for Research on Women, 1994-05) Walker, Susan P.; Grantham-McGregor, Sally; Himes, John H.; Williams, Sonia; Bennett, Franklyn
    This study examined the health and nutrition of adolescent Jamaican girls and their health related behaviours. The relationship between these characteristics and school achievement, attendance, and dropout was also investigated. Data were collected from a sample of 452 grade 8 students from all-age and New Secondary schools in Kingston, using a questionnaire designed to obtain information on health-related behaviours, experiences of hunger, dietary patterns related to iron intake, and social background. Academic achievement was measured with the Wide Range Achievement Test, and nutritional status determined using standard protocols. The results of the analysis revealed that the girls’ heights and BMIs were appropriate for their age. However, they had smaller skinfolds than the references, and experiences of hunger were not uncommon. The main nutritional problem was anaemia, with 16 percent of the girls having haemoglobin levels <115g/l. About 20 percent of the girls were sexually active and use of contraceptive was low. Exposure to violence was high, with 79 percent of the girls having witnessed a fight in the past year, and 37 percent actually involved in fights. School achievement levels and attendance were poor. Lack of school materials, reading simulation at home, and community participation, anaemia, sexual activity, involvement in fights, and the number of chores before school were associated with lower achievement levels. Girls with poor attendance had lower achievement levels. By the end of grade 9, 50 girls (11 percent) dropped out of school.
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    The long-term follow-up of severely malnourished children who participated in an intervention program
    (Apr. 1994) Grantham-McGregor, Sally;
    The study compared 18 severely malnourished children (IM) who participated in a three-year home-visiting programme with two other comparison groups, comprising 17 severely malnourished (NIM) and 19 adequately nourished children (controls). On enrolment, all the groups were in the same hospital, and both malnourished groups had lower developmental levels than the controls. The IM group received intervention for three years after hospitalization, consisting of weekly or two-weekly home visits with toy demonstrations. At 7, 8, 9, and 14 years after leaving the hospital, the three groups were compared on tests of school achievement and IQ. The members of the NIM group showed no sign of reducing their deficits, and at the 14-year follow-up, they had markedly lower scores on the WISC verbal and performance scales, the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) than the controls. Throughout the follow-up, the IM group's scores were intermediate between the NIM and the controls in every test. At the 14-year follow-up, their scores were significantly higher than those of the NIM group in the WISC verbal scale, and the difference approached significance in the WRAT. It is concluded that psychosocial intervention should be an integral part of treatment for severely malnourished children
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    The relationship between developmental level and different types of malnutrition in children
    (The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, 1982) Grantham-McGregor, Sally
    The study examined the relationship between mental development, stunting, wasting and the presence of oedema in 39 children recently recovered from PEM. The children were part of an on-going study and all had been admitted to the University Hospital of the West Indies with kwashiorkor, marasmus of marasmic kwashiorkor. They were all aged between 6 to 24 months on admission to hospital and had not suffered from any other disease likely to cause poor mental development. The children were assessed with the Griffiths Mental Development Scales one month after they left the hospital.