Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Bairagi.
This paper describes a method of calculating theoretic bias in estimates of malnutrition due to errors in anthropometry and age. By this method, bias in estimates of malnutrition measured by weight for age, height for age, arm circumference for age, and weight for height is obtained and presented for different levels of bias and random error in anthropometry and age.
The ability of anthropometric indicators, weight-for-age, height-for-age, weight-for-height, weight velocity, and height velocity to discriminate mortality during a one-year period is examined for three time frames beginning in different seasons. Data on approximately 1,000 children of one to four years of age come from the Matlab, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. The indicators' mortality-discriminating power is assessed in terms of the magnitude of difference between the mean indicator values of living and dead children expressed in standard deviation units and of the maximum sum of sensitivity and specificity. The indicators' mortality curve by nutritional status shows the discriminating power visually; the t test indicates its statistical significance. Weight-for-age and height-for-age perform better than weight velocity and height velocity as discriminators of mortality during a one-year period. The ability of weight and height velocity to discriminate short-term mortality is examined by comparing the mean velocity of the last two bimonthly intervals of the dead children. Weight velocity is likely to be a good indicator of short-term mortality.
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It is shown that the measurement error due to graduation of scaling for anthropometric variables usually follows a uniform distribution. The result is used to investigate to what extent graduation in anthropometric scales affects th short-term intrasubject variance. It is seen that for commonly used graduations the effect is not to be considered substantial.
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Age data for 3,393 children, six years of age and under, in rural Bangladesh are analyzed for the level and pattern of age misstatement. Random error, age heaping at whole years, and preferences for particular ages are found in the data. Variation in age reporting is discovered to increase monotonically with age. Systematic errors in age misstatement display modest overstatement for the first four years of life and more pronounced understatement for ages 4, 5, and 6. Age misstatement is examined for its effect on one indicator often used in nutritional surveillance--weight-for-age of children. The impact of the various types of age misstatement (a) increases the difficulty of interpreting weight-for-age and (b) obscures accurate understanding of malnutrition in Bangladeshi children.
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Fieldworkers in a rural area of Bangladesh distributed two kinds of oral contraceptives to women accepting this method; 286 women received a standard-dose oral contraceptive and 366 women one mile away were given a low-dose pill of the same formulation. Continuation rates at 12 months were 86% for the standard-dose and 75% for the low-dose pill. Worker performance accounted for some of the difference, but the results suggest that the lower-dose pill is less acceptable in rural Bangladesh than the standard-dose pill of the same formulation.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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In this study, the level and pattern of sex preference for children and its effects on fertility intention, fertility-regulating behavior, and fertility implications for women are investigated. Data are from a 1976 cross-sectional KAP (knowledge, attitude, and practice of family planning) survey and a three-year longitudinal study, conducted between December 1976 and 31 December 1979, of vital events for 860 married women of childbearing age from Companiganj, Bangladesh. The results show that although son preference is very strong in this area, more than 98 percent of women desire at least one daughter. However, women with a higher proportion of sons are less likely to want more children and are more likely to practice contraception and to be sterilized. Although women with a higher proportion of sons have somewhat lower fertility in the prospective follow-up period, the net effect of son preference on fertility is not significant, possibly because of the low level of contraceptive use in the population.