Determinants of Growth of Infants in an Egyptian Village: Maternal Anthropometry, Birth Interval, Solid Food and Death of Siblings

A prospective longitudinal study was conducted in an Egyptian village in order to identify the most important determinants of growth of infants. The study was conducted in the period between September 1979 and December 1981. A cohort of newly born infants (170) was assessed anthropometrically at birth and then monthly to the end of the first year of life. Base line data were collected on maternal, socioeconomic and environmental factors known to be associated with growth. The multivariate analysis showed that the Quetelet index of the mother (weight/height2), her height, the length of her last birth interval, the sociosanitary index, history of death among siblings and the sex of the infant were the significant determinants of growth during the first year of life. Having siblings or not was not a significant determinant; what is significant was the occurrence of death among them. The early introduction of solid foods had a favorable effect on growth in length during the first year of life