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compared to boys, the prevalence of anemla was h~gher in g~rls In all age groups and
that of worm infestatlon behveen 9-12 years of age The age prevalence pattern of
anemia and worm infestatlon was not sim~lar (Figures 5.12 and 5.13) Of those with
worm infestation, 92.0% gave a history of passing small worms, wh~ch were probably
Enfembtus and 8.0% gave a history of passlng large worms whlch were probably
Ascaris. Compared to girls, a higher prevalence of vltamin A deflciency was seen In
boys between 9-12 years of age, wh~le nboflavin deflciency was h~gher between 12-15
years of age Sk~n infection and cervlcal adenitls were more common In boys than girls
between 5-8 years. Boys were also found to have more injuries than girls (p < 0.05).
Out of a total of 42 children \with ear discharge, 7 had hearing loss (16.7%). The
prevalence of many of the infectlous disorders, in both glrls and boys was observed to
be higher in the 5-8 year age group. The prevalence of Important disorders observed
durlng school survey are given in Figure5.14.
(11) Cohort Study
Out of 96 girls and 119 boys who were selected for a 1 year follow up, only 93 glrls and
116 boys were available for complete follow up The type of d~sorders and their
frequency, observed over a penod of 1 year in the cohort are given in Tables 5.24 and
5.25. The total number of episodes of illnesses observed in girls and boys was 127
and 179 respect~vely. The average incidence of morb~dity was 1,400
episodes11,00O/year for girls and 1.500 episodes/l,OOOlyear for boys. There was no
Significant difference in the incidence of illnesses between the genders (Z = 1.64; p
0 05).The common illnesses seen were fever, respiratory infection, headache and
abdominal pain with an annual incidence of 67511,000, 26811,000 22511,000 and
17711,000 children respectively. Diarrheal disorders occurred less commonly, the