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Rapid assessment of maternal activity among rural Indian mothers (Pune Maternal Nutrition Study)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

AN Kanade ,
S Rao ,
CS Yajnik ,
BM Margetts  and
CHD Fall
AN Kanade
Affiliation:
Biometry & Nutrition Group, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411 004, India
S Rao*
Affiliation:
Biometry & Nutrition Group, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411 004, India
CS Yajnik
Affiliation:
Diabetes Unit, KEM Hospital Research Centre, Pune, India
BM Margetts
Affiliation:
Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
CHD Fall
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Email raoari@yahoo.com
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Abstract

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Objective

To develop an activity questionnaire for objective and rapid assessment of maternal habitual physical activity with the aim of describing its relationship with birth size.

Design

Prospective observational study.

Setting

Six villages near Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Subjects

Seven hundred and ninety-seven rural Indian mothers were studied after excluding abortions and termination of pregnancies, foetal anomalies, etc.

Method

Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to identify a few leading questions from an elaborate questionnaire involving 36 questions related to 14 typical maternal activities.

Results

On the basis of high loading (>0.8), PCA identified three activities, i.e. farming, fetching water and washing clothes. Questions and sub-questions related to these activities only were considered for defining an activity score for rapid assessment. Validation of this new activity score, with the score based on the elaborate questionnaire, showed 70% sensitivity as well as specificity. New activity scores showed strong inverse relationships similar to those observed using the elaborate questionnaire, at early as well as late gestation, with neonatal head circumference (P=0.001 and 0.055) and mid-arm circumference (P=0.02 and 0.03).

Conclusions

Simple questionnaires, based on leading activities identified by PCA, can be as informative as longer and detailed questionnaires. This method has potential for adaptation, especially in rural communities in developing countries.

Keywords

IndiaMaternal activityBirth sizeActivity questionnaire
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 6 , September 2005 , pp. 588 - 595
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2005

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