Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study assesses the protein nutritional status of inmates of a small prison, in the light of a changing serum protein pattern in the environment. DESIGN Survey of prison inmates. SETTING A male prison and low social class hospital workers. SUBJECTS 81 inmates and 62 randomly selected controls, of which 42 of the former and 28 of the latter were further randomly selected. METHODS Nutritional and confinement history were obtained by a questionnaire, Weights and heights were measured and serum and urine samples collected for protein estimations. RESULTS The prisoners were confined for 229.1 (SD 210.1) days. 48.1% had BMI < 20 kg/m2 compared to 28.6% of controls (p = 0.04). Their diet was predominantly carbohydrate. Mean total serum protein was 81.5gm/L (6.1) (95% CI = 79.3-83.5) (prisoners); 88.7 gm/L (8.1) (95% CI = 85.7-91.7) (controls). Serum globulin was 44.9 gm/L (6.3) (95% CI = 42.9-46.9) (prisoners); 55.4 gm/L (8.2) (95% CI = 52.3-58.5) (controls) (p <0.001 respectively). More prisoners than controls had severe hypo- albuminaemia (p =0.001). All values were lower in those awaiting trial compared to convicted inmates. Total protein and albumin weakly correlated with duration of confinement (r = -0.23 and -0.15, respectively). CONCLUSION The study suggest that the prisoners might be undernourished with lower serum proteins than controls, within an average of seven months confinement. The picture appears worse in those awaiting trial and with prolonged duration of confinement.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.