Congenital Defects of the Central Nervous System Associated with Hyperendemic Goiter in a Neolithic Highland Society of Western New Guinea: V. A Note on Birth Weights and Infantile Growth Rates in the Mulia Population

Document Type

Article

Authors

D C. Gojdusek, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
R M. Garruto, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
R Dedecker, Regions Beyond Mission Union, Papua New Guinea, and Supai Bible Mission, Supai, Arizona

Abstract

Birth weights and infantile growth rates for 73 male and female newborns, representing a total of 438 longitudinal weight measurements, have been described for the Mulia population of the Central Highlands of Western New Guinea at an early period of cultural contact. The newborns and infants represent offspring from a population severely affected with goiter and cretinism and associated mental and motor defects, but none of the infants were diagnosed as cases of severe congenital cretinism. The birth weights of Mulia infants are among the lowest reported for New Guineans, which may in part be the result of the severely protein-deficient diet of pregnant mothers in the Mulia valley. Longitudinal growth curves in Mulia infants are generally similar to those found in other protein-deficient New Guinea populations.

Recommended Citation

Gojdusek, D C.; Garruto, R M.; and Dedecker, R (1974) "Congenital Defects of the Central Nervous System Associated with Hyperendemic Goiter in a Neolithic Highland Society of Western New Guinea: V. A Note on Birth Weights and Infantile Growth Rates in the Mulia Population," Human Biology: Vol. 46: Iss. 2, Article 10.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol46/iss2/10