SERUM PROTEINS AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN SCHOOLCHILDREN FROM A RURAL SCHOOL IN YARUQUÍES, CHIMBORAZO

Background and objectives: The malnutrition is one of the most prevalent problems in underdeveloped countries, which is associated with poverty. Chimborazo is the poorest province in Ecuador, mainly, in rural communities, which are often indigenous. Those populations, are highly vulnerable from a socioeconomic and nutritional point of view. Thus, our objective was to evaluate the nutritional status of children from a rural school, and to explore the association with serum proteins. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in ninety-five children (EVANES project), from a rural school in Yaruquíes, Chimborazo. The anthropometric evaluation was performed using standard deviation score of height and BMI, according to Child Growth Standards of Word Heath Organization (WHO, 2006 and 2007). It was applied the WHO Anthro and AnthroPlus software. Weight and height were measured in duplicate, and body mass index [BMI, weight (Kg)/height (m)2] was calculated. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture. Concentration of total proteins, globulins and albumin was determined. The serum proteins were divided into tertiles. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS software, version 22.0. Statistical significant differences were considered at p