Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health · 9 authors, 7 centres
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This cross-sectional cohort study assessed 110 Sri Lankan adolescents aged 12–13 years whose mothers were pregnant during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, comparing those from tsunami-affected, conflict-affected, conflict-plus-tsunami, and unaffected control regions. Adolescents born in conflict zones, and especially those in areas affected by both conflict and tsunami, had higher BMI, greater body fat, elevated diastolic blood pressure, and higher serum insulin compared with controls.
Mothers had been pregnant during the tsunami. Multivariable regression adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and maternal height showed that conflict-zone adolescents had higher BMI, greater skinfold thickness, elevated diastolic blood pressure, and higher serum insulin compared with controls. BMI-for-age z-score differences were 1.3, 1.0, and 2.0 for conflict, tsunami, and conflict-plus-tsunami groups, respectively. No differences were found in height, head circumference, or most blood parameters. The authors describe this as an exploratory pilot study and caution that results cannot be considered definitive.
