George M. Owen

Preschool children in the United States: who has iron deficiency?

Data on hemoglobin, hematocrit, and transferrin saturation levels in a cross-sectional sample of 2,000 United States preschool children are presented and discussed in relation to age, socioeconomic status, and stature.

Hemoglobin levels accordingto age, race, and transferrin saturation in preschool children of comparable socioeconomic status*

From the Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College o[ Medicine, and Childrens Hospital Research Foundation. Supported by Grant MC-R-390050-06-O from Maternal and Child Health Services, Health Services and Mental Health Administration, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Rockville, Md. ~Address: Room 311, Ros5 Hall, Childrens Hospital, Columbus, Ohio 43205. Pediatr. Res., April 1971, Atlantic City, N. J., p. 99. (Abst.) Gershanik, J. J., Levkoff, A. H., and Duncan, R.: The association of hypocalcemia and recurrent apnea of prematurity, Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 113: 646, 1972.

Automated analysis of plasma and whole blood ascorbic acid

An automated method using 2,6-dichloroindophenol is described for quantitatively determining ascorbic acid in plasma, whole blood and urine. Comparison with the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine procedure for plasma ascorbic acid plus dehydroascorbic acid shows the former procedure to be as sensitive and easier to perform than the latter and reliable for assessing the vitamin C status of individuals. In a national sample of preschool children, plasma ascorbic acid determinations were obtained from 996 children. We demonstrated a progressive rise in plasma ascorbic acid levels with rise in intake; the rate of increase in plasma levels being greatest with intakes less than 90 mg/day (r=0.371, N=545), while a lower rate of increase was noted with intakes above 90 mg/day.

Nutritional status of preschool children: Hemoglobin, hematocrit, and plasma iron values

IN NOVF. MBER, 1968, we initiated a project to evaluate nutritional status of 5,000 preschool children in the United States. Selection of children to be included in the study was based on a multistage area sampling scheme involving 74 primary sampling units in 40 states and which was designed as a probability sampling of dwellings in the United States? Each child in the project had an evaluation of dietary intake, a physical examination, and a battery o f biochemical determinations of blood and urine. In the past two years, considerable data on hematocrit values and on hemoglobin concentrations have been accumulated from Headstart projects 2 and from Children and Youth Projects? These data were derived from somewhat biased samples, as were data from clinic and hospital populations. 4 The purpose of this preliminary communication is to report on concentrations of hemoglobin and of plasma iron as well as on hematocrit

Sex and Population Differences in the Incidence of a Plasma Cholinesterase Variant

Accumulating knowledge of polymorphic enzyme systems poses intriguing possibilities of anthropologic genetics. Development of an automated procedure for determination of heterozygosity or homozygosity of the atypical plasma cholinesterase allele (E1a) permitted screening of 2317 individuals during a national Preschool Nutrition Survey and several smaller population studies. Frequencies of the allele (E1a) closely parallel those previously reported. Caucasians manifested a heterozygote male preponderance of 1.85: 1.

Nutritional status of preschool children: Plasma vitamin A

D. C.: Coronary artery-right ventricular fistula with congestive heart failure: surgical correction in the neonatal period, Surgery 67: 985, 1970. !0. Crocker, D. W., Sobin, S., and Thomas, W. C.: Aneurysms of the coronary arteries: Report of three cases in infants and review of the literature, Amer. J. Path. 33: 819, 1957. I1. Wenger, W. K.: Rarer causes of coronary artery disease, in Hurst, J. W., and Loque, R. B., editors: The heart, New York, 1970, McGraw-Hill Book Company, p. 1041. 12. Benson, P. A.: Dissecting aneurysms of right and left coronary arteries, J. Forensic Sci. 15: 65, 1970. 13. McKeown, F.: Dissecting aneurysm of the coronary artery in arachnodactyly, Brit. Heart J. 22: 434, 1960.

Changes in Levels of Hemoglobin and Hematocrits Among Children and Youth Registrants Between 1968 and 1971

During March and April 1968, hemoglobin and hematocrit results were collected independently by each of 36 participating C & Y Projects for some 24,000 children seen during the two-month interval. This information was submitted to and analyzed by Systems Development Project’ in terms of age, sex, and race. The data submitted did not constitute a random sample of C & Y populations, nor were methods of hemato-

INFANT FEEDING AND GROWTH

This prospectively designed study was done to evaluate growth of 133 healthy full-term infants who received breast milk (B) or infant formula (F) as essentially the only source of calories during the first 6 months of life and who were followed through age 9 months. By analysis of variance, both sex and feeding had significant effect on gains in length and weight (p< 0.01). Weight-for-age centiles (WAC) and length-for-age centiles (LAC) were computed using NCHS reference data and are summarized for B and F infants by age (mos):NCHS reference data, based principally on formula-fed infants who received solid foods in the early weeks of life, may not be entirely appropriate to evaluate growth of todays infants breast-fed according to current recommendations.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF LIKE-SEX TWINS IN THE U.S.

Between 1968 and 1970, 3441 preschool children were included in a national study of nutritional status based on a probability sample drawn by the Univ. of Michigan Survey Research Center. The purpose of this report is to comment on the geographic distribution of 29 like-sex twin pairs, 17 of which were female-female. From radiographs (metacarpal-phalangeal profile patterns), anthropometry, biochemical determinations and correspondence with families, it appeared that nearly half the like-sex twins were identical. Altogether, 90% of like-sex twin pairs (26) lived in the northern half of the country (above latitude 37.5°) although only 55% of the study population lived in the northern half of the country. Further analysis of data suggested some relation between frequency of like-sex twinning and altitude. Only 7.5% of the study population resided at elevations greater than 900 meters above sea level but it accounted for 40% (12 pairs) of like-sex twins. Four pairs of like-sex twins (3 F-F and 1 M-M) were encountered in one California county at an elevation of 2000 meters.

Nutritional status of preschool children: Plasma cholesterol*

by ultracentrifugation. The present study was undertaken to prove our hypothesis that this enzyme and possibly others were associated with intracellular organelles in cell-free amniotic fluid. Cell-free amniotic fluid obtained during the second trimester of pregnancy was subjected to differential centrifugation. Electron micrographs of the resultant pellets revealed the presence of intracellular organelles including mitochondria, lysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum. The activity of alkaline phosphatase and a-l,4-glucosidase was localized predominantly in the particulate fractions with less than 15 per cent of the activity remaining in the high-speed supernate. In contrast, 94 per cent of the activity of hexosaminidase remained in the supernate. Heat denaturation studies suggested that the alkaline phosphatase in amniotic fluid was not placental in origin. The origin of these intraeellular organelles and their associated enzymes remains uncertain. The most likely possibility is that they are released into the amniotic fluid from lysed fetal cells. The ability to demonstrate intraeellular organelles with associated enzymes should prove useful in the in utero diagnosis of genetic disorders.