Browsing by Autor "Adam C. Lipus"

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“It Is Not Natural Anymore”: Nutrition, Urbanization, and Indigenous Identity on Bolivia’s Andean Plateau
(SAGE Publishing, 2018) Adam C. Lipus; Juan S. León; Susana C. Calle; Karen L. Andes
The objective of this article was to characterize how urbanization and indigenous identity shape nutrition attitudes and practices in El Alto, a rapidly urbanizing and predominantly indigenous (Aymara) community on Bolivia's Andean plateau. We took a qualitative ethnographic approach, interviewing health care providers ( n = 11) and conducting focus groups with mothers of young children ( n = 4 focus groups with 25 mothers total [age = 18-43 years, 60% Aymara]). Participants generally described their urban environment as being problematic for nutrition, a place where unhealthy "junk foods" and "chemicals" have supplanted healthy, "natural," "indigenous" foods from the countryside. Placing nutrition in El Alto within a broader context of cultural identity and a struggle to harmonize different lifestyles and worldviews, we propose how an intercultural framework for nutrition can harmonize Western scientific perspectives with rural and indigenous food culture.
Vitamin A Deficiency and Mother‐Infant Correlations in Bolivia
(Wiley, 2015) Alexander Cattran; Rachel M. Burke; Adam C. Lipus; Rita Revollo; Volga Iñiguez; Juan S. León; Parminder S. Suchdev
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects an estimated one‐third of preschool‐aged children in developing countries and is an important contributor to global child mortality. The goal of this analysis was to identify risk factors of VAD in a cohort of Bolivian infants. Healthy infants (n=163) were recruited from 2 hospitals in El Alto, Bolivia, and followed from 1 to 6 months of age. Blood specimens taken at 6 months were analyzed for retinol‐binding protein (RBP) levels (VAD defined as RBP < 0.7 µmol/L), C‐Reactive Protein (CRP), and alpha(1)‐acid glycoprotein (AGP). Potential covariates in logistic regression models of VAD included infant gender, stunting (length‐for‐age Z score < ‐2), iron deficiency (ferritin< 12 μg/L), acute respiratory or diarrheal illness, breastfeeding, maternal age, maternal vitamin A supplementation, maternal employment, and access to private toilets. Elevated CRP (>5 mg/L) and AGP (>1 g/L) were included in all models to account for inflammation. Prevalence of VAD was 25%. Backwards elimination indicated maternal age (OR: 4.6, 90% CI: [1.8‐11.4] for 25‐30 vs. 20‐25 years), maternal employment (0.4 [0.2‐0.9]) and elevated CRP (3.1 [1.2‐7.9]) were significantly associated with VAD using an alpha of 10%. These results suggest that sociodemographics may be an important risk factor for VAD, while inflammation also affects measures of VAD. A limitation of this study is the small sample size and subsequent lack of power, which will be improved as data collection continues.