• Jorge Lopes Cavalcante-Neto, Cristiane Silvestre de Paula, FlorêncioTelma Maria de Menezes ToledoTMPhD. Associate Professor II, School of Nutrition, Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Maceió, AL, Brazil., and MirandaClaudio Torres deCTMD, PhD. Associate Professor I, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Maceió, AL, Brazil..
• MSc. Assistant Professor, Universidade do Estado da Bahia (UNEB), Salvador, BA, Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2016 May 13; 134 (3): 228233228-33.

Context And ObjectiveThe disability associated with maternal common mental disorders (CMDs) is among the possible explanations for the association between chronic childhood malnutrition and CMDs. CMDs may impair the mother's ability to perform her role, particularly in deprived environments. The present study aimed to evaluate whether disability relating to CMDs could be part of the pathway of the association between childhood malnutrition and maternal CMDs.Design And SettingCross-sectional study conducted in two institutions: one for malnourished children and another for eutrophic children living in a low-income community in the state of Alagoas, Brazil.MethodThe cases consisted of 55 malnourished children aged from 12 to 60 months who were attending a nutritional rehabilitation center, with height-for-age z-scores < 2. The controls were 70 eutrophic children of the same age who were attending a day care center in the same area as the cases. The Self-Report Questionnaire made it possible to identify likely cases of maternal CMD. The Sheehan Disability Scale enabled evaluation of the associated disability.ResultsChronic childhood malnutrition was significantly associated with maternal disability relating to CMDs (OR = 2.28; 95% CI: 1.02-5.1). The best logistic regression model using chronic childhood malnutrition as the dependent variable included the following independent variables: higher number of people living in the household; absence of the biological father from the household; and maternal disability relating to CMDs.ConclusionsIf confirmed, the association between chronic childhood malnutrition and maternal disability relating to CMDs may be useful in helping to identify the causal chain between childhood malnutrition and maternal CMDs and to indicate environmental risk factors associated with chronic childhood malnutrition.

26 keywords...

hide…