1. A comparison of objective biomarkers with a subjective health status measure among children in the Philippines.
- Author
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Butrick E, Peabody JW, Solon O, DeSalvo KB, and Quimbo SA
- Subjects
- Biomarkers blood, Body Height, Body Weight, C-Reactive Protein analysis, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Folic Acid blood, Health Surveys, Hemoglobins analysis, Humans, Infant, Lead blood, Philippines, Reproducibility of Results, Biomarkers analysis, Health Status, Self Report
- Abstract
Unlabelled: Large health surveys use subjective (self-reported) and objective (biomarkers) measures to assess heath status. However, the linkage or disparity of these measures has not been systematically studied in developing countries., Method: Using data from the Philippine Quality Improvement Demonstration Study, QIDS, this study evaluated the associations between General Self-Reported Health Status (GSRH) and height, weight, hemoglobin, red blood cell folate, C-reactive protein, and blood lead levels. The authors modeled each biomarker as a function of GSRH controlling for socioeconomic status and selection effects. Changes in biomarkers and GSRH in children who had previously been hospitalized were also examined., Results: GSRH independently predicted hemoglobin, C-reactive protein, stunting, and wasting. GSRH did not vary significantly with folate deficiency and blood lead levels., Conclusions: In addition to being a measure of overall child health status, GSRH may be a useful and inexpensive screening tool for identifying children that need further health testing.
- Published
- 2012
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