The Children of Santa Maria Cauque: A Prospective Field Study of Health and Growth - Leonardo J. Mata - Hardcover

"This book is an extraordinary account of nine years of intimate association with a group of 45 Mayan children in a small Guatemalan highland village," writes Nevin S. Scrimshaw, Institute Professor at MIT and one of the world's authorities on the effects of nutrition on the development of children. "It is unlike any other published study in its almost daily observations of microbiological and general health status in the direct response to the cultural and environmental events to which each child is exposed from fetal life to school age. It will be read with great fascination by all persons interested in child health and child development under conditions of underprivilege." And a 1976 report submitted to Congress by the United States-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program contains this passage: "Recently in Guatemala, a monograph entitled 'The Children of Santa Maria Cauque' was completed. It is a comprehensive interpretation of a detailed longitudinal study of the role of nutrition and infection during pregnancy and early childhood. This is the first definitive attempt to quantify those relationships in a natural setting of a poor community with problems that are typical of those found in many parts of the world. A concise and compassionate set of recommendations are included that should be of great value to the world public health community." Santa Maria Cauque, a Mayan Indian village whose population (prior to the 1976 earthquake) was about a thousand people, is located in the Guatemalan Department of Sacatepequez, more than a mile above sea level. Other rural villages in other developing countries have been studied by specialists from outside, who usually leave with snapshot data concerning the prevalent conditions they happened to encounter, whether their focus was on general health, social welfare, economic development, social change, or psychosocial behavior. This study of Cauque departs from the norm in several respects. It was organized as a prospective, long-term, incidence observation, extending over nine years, 1964-1973. It was conducted by Central Americans who were able to bring their prior knowledge of general conditions prevailing in the region to the investigation-Dr. Mata, who designed and directed the study, is Professor and Director, Institute of Health Research, University of Costa Rica, and the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) provided a base for the project. And the study is unique in the intensity and range of the biologicalinvestigations undertaken. INCAP had its own field station and resident staff, and the technical assistance of a microbiological and statistical laboratory. Prompt examination of biomaterials was thus possible, including the identification of viruses and bacterial colonizations of the intestinal tract, and confirmation of infection by serum immunoglobulins. Sophisticated statistical interpretations were also available, which is reflected in the book's chapter on multivariate analysis of physical growth. Future investigators will find Dr. Mata's descriptions of adapting laboratory and clinical methods to field conditions especially valuable. The book is included in the International Nutrition Policy Series.Mata, Leonardo J. is the author of 'The Children of Santa Maria Cauque: A Prospective Field Study of Health and Growth - Leonardo J. Mata - Hardcover' with ISBN 9780262131353 and ISBN 0262131358.