Syed Jawwad Husain, Muhammad Anwar Sulehri.
Nutritional survey of 8th october 2005 earthquake hit area of district Bagh.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;48(3):51-4.

Background: Earthquake disasters affect the well-being and health of people, by plunging them into greater risks of food deprivation, ill-health and nutritional deficiency diseases. Objectives: To determine the type and pattern of food consumption against its availability to the earthquake-affected people, and to see the nutritional status of vulnerable groups. Setting and Design: It was a cross-sectional survey carried out from November, 2006 to May, 2007 in Mallot, District Bagh of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Subjects and Methods: A sample size of 150 houses was determined for the survey and all individuals in these houses were evaluated. A pre-tested 5 module questionnaire was administered to collect the relevant data. The household information regarding food availability and consumption was collected from the family heads, women and children. Results: Of 675 individuals seen, 202(30%) were below 10 years of age. A poor nutritional status in under 5 children was observed as 51(49.51%) had severe stunted growth, and 26(25.24%) were severely underweight. While, 38(47%) non-pregnant and 20(49%) lactating women had good health with normal weight. The food availability did not meet the dietary requirements of family members. The food consumption by household family members was below their recommended daily allowance due to less food availability. However, micronutrient deficiency signs were not commonly visualized in the population due to the therapeutic campaign launched by the Government. Only 56(8.3%) had signs of protein-energy malnutrition followed by iron deficiency anemia in 52(7.7%), dental caries in 44(6.5%), vitamin A deficiency in 31(4.6%) and iodine deficiency in 20(3.0%) individuals. Serum vitamin A, urinary iodine and haemoglobin levels in lactating mothers were within the normal ranges to be 31.53µg/dl, 121.76 µg/l and 12.2 gm/dl, respectively. Conclusions: Malnutrition was a major health problem in under 5 children. Women were less affected by malnutrition. Less food consumption by the vulnerable groups was observed due to less food availability in the households.

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