Abstract
Height (Ht), weight (Wt), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), free erythrocyte porphyrin (FEP), serum thyroxine (T 4), free T 4 (FT 4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and fatty acid (FA) pattern of serum total lipid were assessed in two groups of Honduran preschoolers. By the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards, the healthy rural children (Group 1, n=20) had normal Wt-for-Ht (47 percentile) despite their short stature (18 percentile) and low body weight (17 percentile). Their Hb, Hct values indicated that they were borderline anemic. A group of hospitalized protein-energy-malnourished (PEM) children (Group 2, n=10) was severely anemic. FEP/Hb ratios, however, indicated that Group 1 had no impairment of heme synthesis due to iron deficiency, and Group 2 was only moderately iron deficient. Serum T 4 and FT 4 levels of all children were within the normal range but Group 2 had 30% lower T 4 and 40% lower FT 4 than Group 1. TSH values were similar and within normal range. Significant correlations of Hb and T 4, Hb and FT 4, and FEP/Hb and FT 4 were observed. The PEM children were essential fatty acid (EFA) deficient. The FA pattern and the extremely low total serum FA level of Group 1 children suggest that they were marginally EFA deficient possibly because of energy insufficiency.
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