[Head circumference in Chilean school children 5 to 18 years of age and socioeconomic status].

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the head circumference (HC) values of a representative sample of 4,346 school children aged 5 to 18 years from Chile's Metropolitan Region, to carry out a comparative study with international reference data of Tanner, Nellhaus and Roche et al and to compare the HC values by socioeconomic status (SES). The sample included school children of both sexes, from public, private subsidized and private non-subsidized schools and from urban and rural areas. HC was measured according to Jelliffe norms and SES through Graffar's Modified Method. Results showed a high correlation between HC values of school-age children from Chile's Metropolitan Region and Tanner, Nellhaus and Roche et al Tables, with similar growth curves; from this manner, HC values of school-age children from Chile's Metropolitan Region not differ significantly from international reference data. HC values were, in general, significantly higher in males than females in all age groups, in students from high SES to compare with other socioeconomic strata and in older school children. This fact was tested too in 1992, in a representative sample of 605 poor school children beneficiaries from the School Feeding Program in Peñalolen and Pirque Counties from Chile's Metropolitan Region with similar results. It can be concluded that HC values of school-age children from Chile's Metropolitan Region were higher in males than females, in high SES compared with medium and low SES and in older students and does not differ significantly from international reference data.