WEIGHT CHANGES AND MORPHOLOGICAL ALTERATIONS IN HAIR OF INSTITUTIONALIZED MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN

Since recent investigations suggest that mild malnutrition may be present among children in institutions for the mentally retarded, and since malnutrition is accompanied by morphological alterations in hair, a study was undertaken to evaluate nutritional status in 26 subjects aged 8 to 19 years residing in a state hospital by correlating growth (estimated by weight gain) with changes in the diameter of the hair shaft. The body weights were measured and samples of hair obtained in Sept., 1972 and again in Sept., 1973. Changes in body weight during this period were expressed as percentages of the expected weight changes according to the Iowa Growth Charts. The results indicated that 8 subjects gained weight appropriately for age (Group A) while 18 subjects did not (Group B). The mean diameter of the hair shaft for Group A was 7.5 ± 0.5 × 10−2 mm (Mean ± SD) and for Group B was 5.9 ± 1.1 × 10−2 mm. The difference between these mean values was statistically significant (P <0.02). These findings suggest that serial measurements of hair shaft diameters may be a useful tool for identifying individuals with prolonged mild undernutrition.