Rural Mexican Community Research Articles

The prevalence of nervios and associated symptomatology among inhabitants of Mexican rural communities.

The purpose of the present contribution is to describe the prevalence of nervios through self-report, to identify psychological and somatic symptoms associated with nervios, and to report the comorbidity of nervios with mood and anxiety disorders among Mexican rural-origin adults. The data reported here were collected as part of a larger project, whose aims were to determine the prevalence of selected mental health problems, their sociocultural manifestation and interpretation, and the utilization of mental health services among the inhabitants of rural communities in Mexico. A multi-stage, stratified, random sample of two regions in Mexico was obtained. The total number of participants used in the analyses was 942 adults: 441 men and 501 women. We found a prevalence of nervios of 15.5% in the general population. When analyzed by sex, women had a significantly higher prevalence (20.8%) of this condition than men (9.5%). Also, all the somatic and psychological symptoms associated with nervios had a higher prevalence among women than men.

Work and Organization through Intercultural Dialogue

This article presents 25 years of experience with the theory and practice conducted through the intercultural relationships between an indigenous rural Mexican community and a team of urban professionals who became an insider partner in regional human and community development. The first section offers the synchronic and diachronic aspects of the epistemological perspective that has been evolving over the years; the theoretical basis that includes three challenges and six levels; and the methodology of presence, interdisciplinarity and agency. The second section is the narrative of the experience. It was rewarding and enriching to discover at international psychology congresses the convergence of our approach with that currently used by the social relational constructionist group led by Dian Marie Hosking.

Amino acid profiles in diet, plasma and human milk in Mexican rural lactating women

This study was designed to assess the relation between the amino acid pattern consumed by marginally nourished lactating women, and the amino acid profiles in plasma and milk. Ten lactating women from a Mexican rural community, with an age of 19–29 (y), a postpartum time 15 (w), and a weight of 49 (kg), were studied in a metabolic unit. Experimental diet was similar to the rural habitual diet and it was given for 10 days. On the last 4 days urine, feces, milk and blood samples were collected. Measurement of total nitrogen in urine, feces and diet, and amino acid analysis in diet, plasma and milk were performed. Amino acid score of the habitual diet was: Lys as a limiting amino acid (18.5%), and Phe+Tyr (137.9%) in excess. Lys intake (21.8 ± 4.6 mg/g protein) was lower than the consumption recommended for lactating women (31 mg/g protein). Nitrogen balance was −9.6 ± 15.4 mg/kg BW d . Total amino acid concentration in plasma was: 2212.6 ± 176.4 μmol/L, where indispensable and dispensable amino acids were 33% and 67% respectively; the most abundant amino acids were Ala, Glu, Gly, Lys and Val; and the less abundant were Cys and Asp. Total amino acid concentration in milk was: 24090 ± 1228 μmol/L, containing 42% and 58% of indispensable and dispensable amino acids respectively; the most abundant amino acids were Glu, Pro and Leu, and the less abundant were Cys, Trp, and Met. The results showed a correlation between the concentration of some indispensable amino acids present in the diet with those of milk (p<0.05). This study shows novel results about amino acid relation between habitual diet, plasma and milk in rural lactating women studied in balance conditions.

Lactancia materna, destete y ablactación: una encuesta en comunidades rurales de México

To determine the prevalence of lactation, the use of industrialized milk and weaning, and the factors related to lack of breast-feeding and early weaning in young infants of rural communities.Transversal study performed by last year medical students doing Social Service in 222 rural communities in Mexico who applied structured interviews to 5,409 families with children younger than 1 year of age.The percentages of children who were never breast-fed were: in the north (N) 21.4%, in the center (C) 7.6% and in the south (S) 5.3%. Children who were still being breast-fed, either exclusively or with mixed feeding by the third trimester were 35.6% (N), 67.6% (C) and 77.5% (S); in the second trimester, 67.2% (N), 40.9% (C) and 51.6% (S) had been weaned. In the N region it was observed that lack of breast-feeding was associated to the health personnel who attended delivery, mothers with six or more years of education and less than four children, dwellings with permanent material floors, two or more household commodities and a head of the family different from the father. Early weaning was essentially associated to the same factors; additionally, to the child being taken care of by someone different from the mother, artificial lactation by parental decision or due to medical recommendation and the use of health services provided by social security or private physicians.Artificial lactation and early weaning are typical of small families, with high educational level of the mother, better living conditions and contact with medical personnel, especially in the N of the country. Children are weaned before the second semester of life and it is therefore deemed necessary to implement health programs which promote breast-feeding and gradual weaning after the sixth month of life among the infant population of Mexican rural communities.

Non-starch polysaccharide intakes in Mexican villagers and residents of Mexico City

A study was performed in a rural Mexican community and in Mexico City to investigate possible differences in non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) intakes. One hundred and fourteen women (fifty-five rural and fitty-nine urban) and forty-three men (twenty-four rural and nineteen urban) completed 24 h recall questionnaires for three consecutive days with NSP intakes being estimated from a specially prepared set of new food composition tables. Potential underestimation of intakes was assessed by estimating individual BMR and dividing the estimated energy intakes by BMR to give a ratio. Excluding severe underrecording (ratio &lt; 1·01) suggested NSP intakes of 21·8 and 17·3 g/d in rural men and women and 17·7 and 15·6 g/d in urban men and women respectively. NSP sources differed, with a marked fall in intake from pulses in the urban areas but a compensatory increase of tortilla intakes and a rise in NSP-rich fruit consumption. Both soluble- and insoluble-NSP intakes were higher in rural areas. NSP intakes scaled by probable energy intakes of moderately active adults in developing countries suggest that NSP intakes in Mexico are similar to adjusted values in Africa, i.e. 26·9 g/d in Mexico v. 28·5 g/d in Africa in rural men and 22·9 v. 21·0 g/d respectively in rural women. The NSP: energy density ratio (g/MJ) of the rural diet conformed with the World Health Organization (1990) goal. Data available on urban and rural communities for three countries showed that in each case the intake of NSP was lowest in the urban community.

Institutions, Inequalities, and the Impact of Agrarian Reform on Rural Mexican Communities

In 1992, Mexico revised its agrarian code ending the redistribution of land and allowing the privatization of Mexico's ejidos. This article examines the potential impacts of these changes through a comparison of two communities, one ejido, the other private property — a comparison that mirrors the changes introduced in the new agrarian reform. I document how the communities' foundation under these two different institutions profoundly shaped the historical and contemporary structure of landholdings and community relations. The ejido community was characterized by greater equality and community solidarity, and fewer social problems. The private property community had extreme inequalities, community relations divided by class interests, and newly-developed social problems. These differences, I argue, presage impending changes in agrarian communities throughout rural Mexico.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency and malabsorption are highly prevalent in rural Mexican communities

Vitamin B-12 status of rural Mexicans was evaluated in two studies, 6 y apart. In the first, a single blood sample was collected from children and adults, including pregnant and lactating women. Prevalence of deficient plasma vitamin B-12 values ranged from 19% to 41% among groups, but plasma folate status was normal in all individuals. Breast milk vitamin B-12 concentration was low in 62% of samples. The second study was conducted in 219 children aged 18-36 mo in five communities, whose prevalence of deficient and low plasma vitamin B-12 concentrations, respectively, was 8% and 33% on entry, 3% and 22% 6 mo later, and 7% and 29% 12 mo later. Prevalence of low holotranscobalamin II concentrations, indicating malabsorption of the vitamin, averaged 18-40% across the three same periods. Both vitamin B-12 status indicators differed significantly between communities. The widespread vitamin B-12 deficiency was probably caused by malabsorption, perhaps exacerbated by low dietary intake and, for young children, maternal depletion of the vitamin.

Consumption of dietary fiber in rural Mexico.

The average per capita intake of dietary fibre and the relative contribution of different foods to its intake in the Mexican rural population was studied. Food consumption data were obtained from the National Nutrition Surveys of 1979 (21,248 families in 219 rural Mexican communities), and from a similar survey of the same communities in 1989 (20,759 families). Average per capita intake of total dietary fibre (TDF) ranged from 19.8 to 34.0 g/d (average 27.2 ± 3.3) in 1979 and from 17.5 to 27.1 g/d (average 22.5 ± 2.2) in 1989. About 13% of TDF in both surveys was contributed by soluble dietary fibre. Of the 19 regions of the country, 18 exhibited a significant reduction in TDF intake from 1979 to 1989 (p < 0.001). With the exception of two regions on the northern border, maize was the major single source of TDF (from 31 to 74% of TDF). The implication of these observations on disease patterns needs to be studied.

A Methodology for Future Oriented Appropriate Development: The Prospective Approach

Development is only a means to solve problems by using available resources in an efficient way. A framework to understand the concept of appropriate development is introduced relating this to the social processes of problem definition and problem solving. In this scheme, a methodology for future oriented development planning in developing countries is proposed. It has proved being successful in designing development plans in Mexican rural communities.

Use of lead-glazed ceramics is the main factor associated to high lead in blood levels in two Mexican rural communities.

Two isolated rural communities of Mexico were studied to assess the possible relationship between lead-glazed ceramics use and lead exposure. Women from these communities (n = 98) were asked to participate by filling out a general-purpose and exposure questionnaire in order to assess the individual contribution of ceramics to lead exposure. Blood samples were withdrawn to measure lead in blood and erythrocytic zinc protoporphyrin levels. Results were analyzed by multiple regression in order to find predictors of the dependent variables. Significant association between lead in blood and erythrocytic zinc protoporphyrin levels was identified with the following variables: storage in lead-glazed ceramics, cooking in lead-glazed ceramics, and meat and cheese consumption. The adjusted regression models explained 20-23% of the variance of the dependent variables (lead in blood and erythrocytic zinc protoporphyrin). A significant association (r2 = .38) was observed between lead in blood and lead in food prepared in lead-glazed ceramics in a subsample of 28 women. Results indicate that lead-glazed ceramics use may be the main predictor of lead in blood and erythrocytic zinc protoporphyrin levels in the rural communities studied.

Migration, cash cropping and subsistence agriculture: Relationships to household food expenditures in rural Mexico

The relationship between income and food expenditure patterns is influenced by a number of factors, including personal tastes, source and frequency of income, male/female control over income, home food production, and other demographic factors. In this study, the relationship of household resource allocation to each of the following is examined: (1) source of income (i.e. wage labor, cash cropping, migrant remittances, and other private sources); (2) women's contribution to income; and (3) subsistence production level. The overall study design involved a cross-sectional survey of 178 households in three rural Mexican communities on two occasions spanning both agricultural seasons. On each occasion, data were collected on the following: (1) income by source and by earner; (2) migrant remittances; (3) gifts and loans; (4) subsistence and cash crop production, expenses, and earnings; (5) major nonfood purchases; (6) household composition; and (7) household food use (during the previous week). Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the factors associated with the percentage of income allocated to food (PFX) and the percentage of the food budget allocated to (1) maize, beans, and chile (TRAD); (2) meat, milk, and fruit (LUX); and (3) bread, pasta, and snack foods (PROC). All regressions were run controlling for income. The proportion of income from migrant remittances was negatively associated with PFX (winter). Subsistence score was positively related to PFX (summer). Migrant remittances (winter) and subsistence score (both seasons) were negatively associated with TRAD. Subsistence score was positively related to LUX (both seasons). Father's absence (both seasons), store ownership (winter), and private source of income (summer) were all positively linked to PROC. Mother's contribution to total income and cash cropping income were not significantly related to any of the dependent variables. The findings support the idea that resource allocation patterns are influenced not only by income level but also by the household economic strategies through which income is generated.

Community Development in Rural Mexico: The Social Psychological Effects of Adult Education1

A field study compared the social‐psychological impact of two traditional adult education programs (certification and literacy) with a socio‐ecologically oriented approach in three rural Mexican community types (Ejido, Hacienda, Cabecera) varying in structure and degree of isolation. The primary findings revealed interactions between community and program for the luck/fate dimension of locus of control and for a measure of social efficacy. Community type was the critical factor affecting program impact on luck/fate locus of control beliefs: Residents of the most unstructured and isolated community (Ejido) showed the greatest shift toward internality. Program focus produced significant changes in feelings of social efficacy in two of the three communities. The socio‐ecological program contributed most to social competence in the Hacienda community, whereas the certification program had the greatest positive impact in the Cabecera community. The findings are discussed in terms of the relevance of the ecological approach to community intervention in developing countries such as Mexico.

Effect of an integrated nutrition-primary health care package on nutritional status of children

An integrated nutrition-primary health care project was implemented in a poor Mexican rural mestizo community in order to test a method for the improvement of child health. Anthropometric data of unintervened (Control) children aged 10–30 months living in the community in 1980 and of intervened (Package) children in 1983 were obtained and their nutritional status assessed and compared. Significant differences were observed between the weights of Control and Package boys and girls in the age group 20–25 months and between their mean heights in the age groups 20–25 (boys) and 25–30 (girls), suggesting an impact of the programme at improving overall nutritional status of children.

Child mortality and economic variation among rural Mexican households

In two rural Mexican communities, rates of child mortality are significantly related to economic situations of households. Measured over the childbearing years of post-reproductive women, the rate of child mortality (ages 0–5 years) per mother is 163 per 1000 children in one village and 338 in the other. Significant economic correlates, which are defined ethnographically in each community, are housing quality, quality of farm land and marital status. Correlations of child mortality rates with economic variables range from -0.25 to -0.54, showing that poorer mothers lose significantly more children in the first 5 years of life. These results parallel those of urban, regional, national and international studies, but economic correlates of child mortality have not previously been found in rural Latin America. The methodological contributions of this study include a meld of ethnographic and survey techniques of data collection, the development of culturally appropriate variables to measure economic status, the use of child rather than infant mortality rates, and a household-related demographic measure, the rate of child mortality per mother.

Nutrition, lactation and fertility in two Mexican rural communities

Policies are currently being pursued in Third World countries which promote lactation as both a fertility control measure and a means of improving child health and decreasing infant mortality rates. However, the relationship between nutrition, lactation and fertility in the human is a complex one in which social and psychological factors are involved as well as physiological and biochemical mechanisms. Little is known about the effects of these social and psychological variables on the biological processes. Observations made in the course of the anthropological fieldwork study reported in this paper raise questions regarding the assumption of the universal applicability of lactation policies in third world countries. Findings from this study are supported by the anthropological literature which indicates that breast feeding behaviour is culturally patterned and that there is a wide variation in such behaviour. The variations in environmental resources as well as in the ideological notions of nutrition which pattern the behaviour governing the exploitation of such resources as well as feeding behaviour is seen as advantageous in that they provide a ‘natural laboratory’ situation for examining the conflicting hypotheses concerning the relationship between nutrition, lactation and fertility.

Economic and social factors influencing women's infant feeding decisions in a rural Mexican community.

Several factors appeared to have influenced the individual mother's decision about infant feeding: economic situation, family size, reported ability to produce breast milk and advice received concerning breast milk. Exposure to commercial advertising and women's participation in the labour force did not emerge as determining factors in the infant feeding decision of the women studied. The decision to breast feed taken by exclusively breast feeding mothers appeared to have been influenced by the conditions of poverty in the households. These mothers may have made the decision to breast feed due to a lack of economic alternatives. Concurrently, breast feeding mothers received considerable advice and encouragement to breast feed. Formula feeding was not limited to mothers in households having higher incomes than the rest of the sample studied. Over 50% of women using formula or other milks to feed their infants lived in households receiving the median or lower incomes in the community. For women unable to nurse, the decision to feed with cow's milk, powdered milk or a commercial formula was the only viable alternative. It has been argued that if commercial milk formulas were not widely available to Third World women, breast feeding would flourish. This assumption was not confirmed by the data obtained in the present research project. If no breast milk alternatives had been available to mothers who reported lactation failure, their infant feeding problem would have been compounded. At the same time, it can be seen from the data concerning monthly cash expenditure for milk that the most economically disadvantaged women who purchased milk needed to spend an inordinate amount of the households' income for that item. The decision to formula feed in these households put a great strain on the family's income. In the case of women who formula fed, family size may have been a determinant in the feeding decision. More formula feeding mothers had from 5 to 10 children than did breast feeding mothers. The demands on the mother's time due to large family size and the convenience of allowing an older child to bottle feed the infant may have made milk or formula feeding a more attractive alternative to these mothers. Perhaps more importantly, the effect of a greater number of pregnancies and childbirths on these women's health may have contributed to their reported inability to nurse the most recently born child. Knowledge of influential factors in the mothers' infant feeding decisions could be used by nutritionists promoting education programs in rural areas such as Malinalco. Before breast feeding is generally recommended, mother's capacity for lactation should be investigated. In the community studied, formula feeding women often depended on the experience of others in choosing a type of milk for their infants. In many cases it was only after an inappropriately chosen milk had caused diarrheal disease in the infant that the mother visited the physician and received advice. A more accessible health care system, of which nutritional counselling is a part, needs to be made available to women in these situations. Optimally, an inexpensive milk formula could be distributed to these women through government subsidized health clinics. While intervention programs may be needed in poor rural communities such as the one studied, they cannot deal with the overall situation of poverty which contributes heavily to disease and death of infants in rural communities in the developing world. Presently nutritionists may not be working closely with economic planners in Third World countries to correct situations which are damaging to infant's nutritional status. However, the effects of poverty and the specific ways in which they condition mother's feeding decisions will have to be taken into account if infants in developing nations are to be better nourished.

Non-use of physicians: Methodological approaches, policy implications, and the utility of decision models

This paper considers ethnographic approaches to the study of health-care choice making in medically pluralistic settings. It focuses on the ways in which different methodological orientations may lead to varying explanations for the non-use of Western-style medical treatment, having dissimilar implications for policies concerning the delivery of health services in such settings. Several approaches are evaluated in terms of their utility for determining the relative effects of endogenous, culturally derived influences, as compared with exogenous, primarily accessibility-related factors, as constraints on the choice of a physician's treatment. Results of the application of a cognitively-oriented decision modeling approach in a rural Mexican community are described, and the comparative advantages of this approach are emphasized.

STUDENT PRIZE PAPER: The Illnesses No Longer Understand: Changing Concepts of Health and Curing in a Rural Mexican Community

STUDENT PRIZE PAPER: The Illnesses No Longer Understand: Changing Concepts of Health and Curing in a Rural Mexican Community

From Royalty to Poverty: The Decline of a Rural Mexican Community

Nine hundred years ago Mixtec community of Tilantongo was seat of an empire in Southern Mexico. As late as 16th century Tilantongo's ruling elite was described as belonging to the most noble lineage in all Mixteca Alta. Today, community is moribund, only a withered reflection of center which fathered royalty for several centuries in Mixteca.