The long-term consequences of early life exposure to tsunami and conflict on adolescents in Sri Lanka
The long-term consequences of early life exposure to tsunami and conflict on adolescents in Sri Lanka
The consequences for adolescent health due to early life exposure to natural disasters combined with war are not known. We collected data from adolescents aged 12-13 years in Sri Lanka whose mothers were pregnant during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 in a tsunami-affected region (n = 22), conflict-affected region (n = 35), conflict-plus-tsunami-affected region (n = 29), or controls in areas unaffected by either (n = 24). Adjusted body mass index (BMI)-for-age z-scores were 1.3, 1.0 and 2.0 for conflict, tsunami, and conflict-plus-tsunami, respectively, compared with the control group. Greater skinfold thickness and higher diastolic blood pressure were found in adolescents born in the conflict zone but no differences were found in height, head circumference, and waist circumference, or blood results, with the exception of serum insulin. Being born after a natural disaster or during conflict was associated with increased BMI and body fat during adolescent, which are associated with longer-term risk of noncommunicable disease.
adolescent, anthropometry, conflict, nutrition, tsunami, war
112-120
Devakumar, Delan
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Busert, Laura
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Sathiadas, Manoji Gitanjali
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Jayawardana, Pushpika
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Arulpragasam, Angela
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Osmond, Clive
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Fall, Caroline H D
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Wells, Jonathan C K
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Wickramasinghe, V Pujitha
8530eb70-b474-40ee-8c8c-bb47d7fa143b
March 2023
Devakumar, Delan
ae2d73c1-8218-4dee-ad41-12e13d8f94f8
Busert, Laura
b79d8992-cc51-4004-bd4c-aa433fbd5f5f
Sathiadas, Manoji Gitanjali
ae8abd33-a0ce-4f48-b15f-a397ca4ff276
Jayawardana, Pushpika
f317160a-285d-46a8-afe7-8c9a74e62676
Arulpragasam, Angela
d50c92f3-14e3-4e18-9adb-9e71cb3c0763
Osmond, Clive
2677bf85-494f-4a78-adf8-580e1b8acb81
Fall, Caroline H D
7171a105-34f5-4131-89d7-1aa639893b18
Wells, Jonathan C K
f3390c95-a267-4d81-9bf1-5514d2a10fa6
Wickramasinghe, V Pujitha
8530eb70-b474-40ee-8c8c-bb47d7fa143b
Devakumar, Delan, Busert, Laura, Sathiadas, Manoji Gitanjali, Jayawardana, Pushpika, Arulpragasam, Angela, Osmond, Clive, Fall, Caroline H D, Wells, Jonathan C K and Wickramasinghe, V Pujitha
(2023)
The long-term consequences of early life exposure to tsunami and conflict on adolescents in Sri Lanka.
Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 35 (2-3), .
(doi:10.1177/10105395231151730).
Abstract
The consequences for adolescent health due to early life exposure to natural disasters combined with war are not known. We collected data from adolescents aged 12-13 years in Sri Lanka whose mothers were pregnant during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 in a tsunami-affected region (n = 22), conflict-affected region (n = 35), conflict-plus-tsunami-affected region (n = 29), or controls in areas unaffected by either (n = 24). Adjusted body mass index (BMI)-for-age z-scores were 1.3, 1.0 and 2.0 for conflict, tsunami, and conflict-plus-tsunami, respectively, compared with the control group. Greater skinfold thickness and higher diastolic blood pressure were found in adolescents born in the conflict zone but no differences were found in height, head circumference, and waist circumference, or blood results, with the exception of serum insulin. Being born after a natural disaster or during conflict was associated with increased BMI and body fat during adolescent, which are associated with longer-term risk of noncommunicable disease.
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10105395231151730
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Accepted/In Press date: 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 25 January 2023
Published date: March 2023
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Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research was funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences. The funder played no part in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of results, writing the report or the decision to submit for publication.
Funding Information:
We thank all the children and parents who participated in the study, the Regional directors of health, area medical officers of health and school authorities. Professor Sumedha Wijeyrathna, from Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Ms SMTH Senevirathna, Ms TKG Rathnayaka, from Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo and laboratory technical staff of Vindana Reproductive center, Colombo for their enormous support in processing and analysis of the samples. Dr Sinnathurai Mayura, Dr KWG Prasanna, Dr KV Epa, Dr RMA Chamika, Dr KA Mahaarachchi, Mr Selvarajah Maathuran, Mr Karunakaran Nishanthan, Ms CJ Veluppillai for the assistance provided at ground level in conducting the study. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research was funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences. The funder played no part in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of results, writing the report or the decision to submit for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 APJPH.
Keywords:
adolescent, anthropometry, conflict, nutrition, tsunami, war
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Local EPrints ID: 475038
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/475038
ISSN: 1010-5395
PURE UUID: 0fa14e8f-6b8e-4b81-ae1a-013305473cd1
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Date deposited: 09 Mar 2023 18:29
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:42
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Contributors
Author:
Delan Devakumar
Author:
Laura Busert
Author:
Manoji Gitanjali Sathiadas
Author:
Pushpika Jayawardana
Author:
Angela Arulpragasam
Author:
Jonathan C K Wells
Author:
V Pujitha Wickramasinghe
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