Comment on McGovern “Comparing the relationship between stature and later life health in six low and middle income countries”

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 149-150
Author(s):  
Tom S. Vogl
Keyword(s):  
Later Life ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals Maternal BMI mediates the impact of crop-related agricultural work during pregnancy on infant length in rural Pakistan: a mediation analysis of cross-sectional data

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Pradeilles ◽  
Elizabeth Allen ◽  
Haris Gazdar ◽  
Hussain Bux Mallah ◽  
Azmat Budhani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Infancy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Agricultural Work ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Rural Pakistan ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Maternal Bmi ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background Stunted growth in early infancy is a public health problem in low-and-middle income countries. Evidence suggests heavy agricultural work during pregnancy is inversely associated with maternal body mass index (BMI) and infant birth weight in low- and middle-income countries; but pathways linking agricultural work to length-for-age Z-scores (LAZ) in early infancy have not been examined. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between agricultural work during pregnancy, post-natal maternal BMI and LAZ among young infants in rural Pakistan; and explored whether maternal BMI mediated the relationship between agricultural work and infant LAZ. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 2015 to January 2016 in rural Sindh, Pakistan. Mother-infant dyads were recruited via systematic random cluster sampling at 2–12 weeks’ post-partum (n = 1161). Anthropometric measurements (maternal and infant height/length and weight) and questionnaire data were collected. Multivariable linear regression and structural-equation based mediation analyses were used to examine associations of agricultural work during pregnancy with maternal BMI and infant LAZ. Results During pregnancy, women reported engaging in livestock-related work (57.0%), crop-related work (42.7%), and cotton harvesting (28.4%). All three forms of agricultural work were negatively associated with maternal BMI (β = − 0.67 [− 1.06; − 0.28], β = − 0.97 [− 1.51; − 0.48]; and β = − 0.87 [− 1.33; − 0.45], respectively). Maternal engagement in cotton harvesting alone was negatively associated with infant LAZ after controlling for confounding factors. The total negative effect of cotton harvesting on infant LAZ was − 0.35 [− 0.53; − 0.16]. The indirect effect of maternal BMI on infant LAZ was − 0.06 [− 0.08; − 0.03], revealing that 16% (− 0.06/− 0.35) of the relationship between cotton harvesting and infant LAZ, after adjustment, was mediated via maternal BMI. Conclusion These results underscore a need to reduce labour-intensive agricultural workload demands during pregnancy, especially in cotton harvesting, to reduce risks of negative maternal energy balance and poor growth outcomes in early infancy.

scholarly journals Comparisons of Vaccine Hesitancy across Five Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Vaccines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abram L. Wagner ◽  
Nina B. Masters ◽  
Gretchen J. Domek ◽  
Joseph L. Mathew ◽  
Xiaodong Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Vaccine Decision Making ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Vaccine hesitancy is a continuum of behaviors ranging from delay in receipt to vaccination refusal. Prior studies have typically focused on high-income countries, where vaccine hesitancy is particularly prevalent in more affluent groups, but the relationship between socioeconomic status and vaccine hesitancy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) is less clear. The aim of this study was to describe vaccine hesitancy in five LMICs. Mothers of children in Sirajganj, Bangladesh (n = 60), Shanghai, China (n = 788), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (n = 341), Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (n = 767), and Chandigarh, India (n = 309), completed a survey between 2016 and 2018 using the WHO’s 10-item Vaccine Hesitancy Scale. The scores of different constructs were compared across countries and by the mother’s education level using linear regression models with generalized estimating equations. Compared to mothers in China, mothers in Bangladesh perceived less vaccination benefit (β: 0.56, P = 0.0001), however, mothers in Ethiopia (β: −0.54, P < 0.0001) and Guatemala (β: −0.74, P = 0.0004) perceived greater benefit. Education level was not significantly linked with vaccine hesitancy. Local circumstances are important to consider when developing programs to promote vaccines. We did not find consistent associations between education and vaccine hesitancy. More research is needed to understand socio-cultural influences on vaccine decision-making.

scholarly journals Linking agriculture and health in low- and middle-income countries: an interdisciplinary research agenda

2012 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Dangour ◽  
Rosemary Green ◽  
Barbara Häsler ◽  
Jonathan Rushton ◽  
Bhavani Shankar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Prices ◽  
World Population ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Double Burden ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Household Incomes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Recent global fluctuations in food prices and continuing environmental degradation highlight the future challenge of feeding a growing world population. However, current dialogues rarely address the relationship between agricultural changes and health. This relationship is traditionally associated with the role of food in nutrition and with food safety, and while these are key interactions, we show in this paper that the relationship is far more complex and interesting. Besides the direct effects of agriculture on population nutrition, agriculture also influences health through its impact on household incomes, economies and the environment. These effects are felt particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where dramatic changes are affecting the agriculture–health relationship, in particular the growth of nutrition-related chronic disease and the associated double burden of under- and over-nutrition. Greater understanding of the negative effects of agriculture on health is also needed. While lengthening food value chains make the chain of influence between agricultural policy, food consumption, nutrition and health more complex, there remain opportunities to improve health by changing agricultural systems. The first challenge in doing this, we suggest, is to improve our capacity to measure the impact of agricultural interventions on health outcomes, and vice versa.

DOHaD in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review exploring gaps in DOHaD population studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 557-563
Author(s):  
Siobhan Tu’akoi ◽  
Mark H. Vickers ◽  
Jacquie L. Bay
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Incidence Risk ◽  
Low And Middle Income

AbstractLow- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionately affected by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), accounting for more than 80% of NCD-related deaths globally. Research into early-life influences on these diseases via the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) paradigm has informed health promotion interventions and policies focused on optimising early-life health. However, little is known about where this research occurs and whether it reaches and reflects the countries most affected by NCDs. This review searched for DOHaD studies that investigated relationships between factors during pregnancy and at birth, with later-life NCD incidence, risk and related mortality. The aim of this review was to identify where DOHaD research has been conducted and whether this focus is appropriate and relevant, given the differential burden of NCDs. Embase, MEDLINE and Scopus were searched, and eligibility screening processes identified 136 final articles. This review found that 49.7% of DOHaD research was conducted on populations within Western Europe, 15.9% in East Asia, 12.7% in North America, 8.3% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and fewer in Australasia, South Asia, the Middle East, the Africas, and Central Asia. When categorised by income, this review found that 76.4% of studies were based in high-income countries, 19.1% in upper-middle-income and 4.5% in lower-middle-income countries. No studies were based in low-income countries. There is therefore a marked disconnect between where DOHaD research is undertaken and where the greatest NCD disease burden exists. Increasing DOHaD research capacity in LMICs is crucial to informing local strategies that can contribute to reducing the incidence of NCDs.

scholarly journals Global aid for nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions and proportion of stunted children across low- and middle-income countries: does aid matter?

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii18-ii27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hina Khalid ◽  
Sitara Gill ◽  
Ashley M Fox
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Development Assistance ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Development assistance for health (DAH) has increased dramatically over the past two decades, and this increase has led to a debate on the benefits and perverse effects of scaling-up vs scaling back DAH, and the type of interventions DAH should support. Nutrition remains a contested category viewed as essential to achieving primary healthcare objectives but as falling outside of the direct ambit of the health system. Thus, despite the increase in DAH, it continues to remain an underfunded area and little is known about the relationship between aid for nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions and the proportion of stunted children across low- and middle-income countries. We hypothesize that as nutrition-specific aid targets local needs of countries and is less fungible than nutrition-sensitive aid, it will contribute more to a reduction in the proportion of stunted children, with the steepest gains among countries that have the highest burden of malnutrition. We use fixed-effects regressions to examine the relationship between the proportion of stunted children and aid for nutrition interventions (specific and sensitive) to 116 low- and middle-income countries (2002–16). We construct our panel using the Creditor Reporting System, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization and World Development indicators databases. We find a one-dollar increase in per capita nutrition-specific aid is associated with a reduction in the proportion of stunted children by 0.004 (P < 0.05). When stratified by burden of malnutrition, a one-dollar increase in per capita nutrition-specific aid to countries with the highest burden of malnutrition is associated with sharper reductions in the proportion of stunted children (0.013, P < 0.01). We also find a significant association for per capita nutrition-sensitive aid and proportion of stunted children when per capita aid for nutrition is lagged by 3 and 4 years (0.0002, P < 0.05), suggesting a long-run association between nutrition-sensitive aid and proportion of stunted children. Our findings suggest that in spite of criticisms that development assistance fails to adequately reach its intended beneficiaries, aid for nutrition has been successful at reducing the proportion of stunted children. Our findings imply a need to scale-up nutrition funding and improve targeting of aid.

scholarly journals Human development and international migration: Lessons from low- and middle-income countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-23
Author(s):  
Leonie Decrinis
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Source Countries ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

This paper analyses the relationship between human development and migration. In particular, it tests whether migration, as a function of human development, follows an inverted U-shaped curve, known as mobility transition. Understanding this relationship is important since many Western politicians have implemented socioeconomic development strategies in migrant source countries with the aim to reduce migration. Considering that previous studies have mainly concentrated on the economic factors of development, this study introduces the broader human development index, determined by income, health and education, as the main explanatory variable. Analysing the rate of migration from 111 low- and middle-income countries into the aggregate of 15 OECD countries between 2000 and 2010, the study finds strong support for the inverted U-shaped relationship between human development and migration. This indicates that development strategies aimed at reducing migration are misguided

scholarly journals Association between early childhood caries and intimate partner violence in 20 low- and middle-income countries: 2007-2017

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan ◽  
Mary Obiyan ◽  
Maha El Tantawi ◽  
Arthur Kemoli ◽  
Ola B. Al-Batayneh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Early Childhood Caries ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Eta Squared ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background: To determine the relationship between country level prevalence of interpersonal violence (IPV) and the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) in children aged 3-5-year-olds. Method: This was an ecological study using extracted IPV (physical, sexual and emotional) and ECC data for 3-5-year-olds in 20 low- and middle-income countries for the period 2007-2017. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the percentage of 3-5-year-old children with ECC (outcome variable) and the four IPV indicators (physical, sexual, emotional and a combination of the three). The model was adjusted for the country’s Gross National Income GNI. Partial eta squared (as measure of effect size), regression coefficients, confidence intervals and p values were calculated. Results: The strongest association was between ECC prevalence and exposure to physical violence (partial eta squared= 0.01), followed by exposure to sexual violence (partial eta squared= 0.005), and exposure to all types of IPV combined (partial eta squared= 0.001). Exposure to emotional violence had the weakest association with ECC (partial eta squared < 0.0001). For 1% higher percentage of women reporting exposure to physical violence and percentage of women reporting all types of IPV combined, there was a 0.18% higher prevalence of ECC. For 1% higher prevalence of sexual violence, there was 0.22% higher ECC prevalence. For 1% higher prevalence of emotional violence, there was 0.04% higher ECC prevalence. Conclusions: Countries with high prevalence of IPV will likely also have high prevalence of ECC. This needs further studies.

Family support and family and child-related outcomes among families impacted by disability in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reshma Parvin Nuri ◽  
Beata Batorowicz ◽  
Heather Michelle Aldersey
Keyword(s):  
Family Support ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Parental Stress ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

There is a growing interest in understanding the relationship between family support and family or child-related outcomes in high-income countries. However, this has received little attention in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this review was to explore the relationship between family support and family and child-related outcomes among families affected by disability in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a scoping review of five databases using search terms related to ‘family’, ‘support’, ‘child’, and ‘disability’. A total of 13 articles met the inclusion criteria. Families of children with disabilities received most of their support from informal sources (e.g. immediate family members, friends, and parents support groups). Parental stress was most often evaluated as the family outcome and was negatively linked to emotional support and childcare assistance from immediate family members. Movement and mobility therapy offered by rehabilitation professionals was found to improve children’s walking patterns. Positive attitudes from community members were key facilitators to participation of children with disabilities in social activities. The review calls for urgent attention to research in low- and middle-income countries, particularly the extent of support families are receiving from government-led support systems.

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