Faisal Anwar

Relationship between nutritional status, psychosocial stimulation, and cognitive development in preschool children in Indonesia

The purposes of the study were to analyze nutritional status, psychosocial stimulation, and factors affecting the cognitive development of preschool-age children. This study was conducted in the Village of Babakan, Sub-District of Dramaga, Bogor Regency, West Java. This cross-sectionally designed study was conducted with mothers who had preschool children aged 3-5 years as respondents. Fifty-eight children were included. The distribution of mothers educational level was quite diverse, and the largest percentage (44.8%) had senior high school education. Approximately 78% of the family income per capita was classified into the non-poor category and 22.4% into the poor category. The average mothers nutritional knowledge score was 76.7 ± 2.5 (moderate category). Most of the preschool children (84.4%) had psychosocial stimulation scores in the moderate category (30-45). The nutritional status of children showed that 15.5% were underweight, 5.2% were wasted, 3.4% were severely wasted, and 19% of the children were in the short and very short categories (stunted). The stepwise regression results showed that psychosocial stimulation (P < 0.001), participation in early childhood education (P = 0.002) and nutritional status based on the height index for age (P = 0.028) had a positive and significant effect on cognitive development of the preschool children (adjusted R2, 0.434; P = 0.028).

High participation in the Posyandu nutrition program improved children nutritional status.

The objective of this research was to analyze nutritional status and food consumption of children participating in the Posyandu nutrition program. A total sample of 300 children under five years had been drawn. Sample was divided into two categories namely high participation and low participation in the Posyandu nutrition program. The sample was selected from two sub districts of Cianjur District, West Java. The districts were areas with a high proportion of poor people and many of them take the benefits of Posyandu nutrition program conducted by the government. The participation of children (under five years old) in visiting Posyandus was relatively good, namely, 92.4% (for the high participation group). However, for the low participation group, the number of participating children was relatively low (28.3%). The average consumption of energy for children under five years old was still below the recommended dietary allowance < 80% of RDA, whereas the protein consumption was already above the RDA. The prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting among children were respectively 30.0%, 43.7%, and 12.3%. The activities at Posyandus had a positive impact on the nutritional status of children under five years olds, measured in terms of weight for age (W/A) and weight for height (W/H). The more frequent the visit to Posyandus, the better the nutritional statuses would be.

Is vitamin D deficiency associated with using veil in female garment workers

Abstract Objective To find out the determinant factors which are associated with the serum vitamin D status in the female garment workers. Methods This study was a cross sectional design with a total of 154 childbearing female garment workers aging from 18 to 40 who worked at garment factory in Sukabumi, Indonesia and fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Serum 25(OH)D was determined using a chemiluminescence immunoassay method. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing serum vitamin D status. Results The results of this study showed that on average serum 25(OH)D of the workers was 31.6 nmol/L and only 5.2% of them had a sufficient status of vitamin D. There were no different proportion among body mass index, supplement consumption, energy, protein, calcium, and vitamin D adequacy level with the serum vitamin D status of the workers. The workers who wore veils had a higher proportion to have a deficient serum vitamin D compared to workers who did not use veils ( P = 0.000). The women who wore veils had a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency than the women who did not wear any veil. Conclusions A need of vitamin D can be obtained from sunlight. Therefore it is suggested that the garment provide an opportunity for the garment workers to do exercise in the morning so that the workers can get sunlight prior to working.