Outcome of food intake and nutritional status after discontinuation of a cow’s-milk-free diet post negative oral food challenge in infants and children

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of food intake and nutritional status post discontinuation of a cow’s-milk-free diet after a negative oral food challenge.Methods: This was a prospective, uncontrolled study that evaluated food intake and nutritional status of a cohort of 80 infants and children under 5 years of age. Food intake and nutritional status were evaluated on the day of the oral food challenge test and after 30 days. Weight and height were measured on the day of the test and after 30 days.Results: The mean age of the patients was 18.7 ± 12.4 months, and 58.7% were male. After discontinuation of the elimination diet, the children showed daily intake increases in (P < 0.001), protein (P < 0.001), carbohydrates (P = 0.042), calcium from foods (P < 0.001), calcium from foods and supplements (P < 0.001), phosphorus (P < 0.001), and vitamin D from foods (P = 0.006). The Z-scores (n = 76) on the day of the oral food challenge test and 30 days after restarting the consumption of cow’s milk were as follows: weight-for-age (P < 0.001) and height-for-age (P < 0.001), respectively.Conclusion: Cow’s milk protein in the diet was associated with increased intake of energy, proteins, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, in addition to an increase in the Z-scores for weight-for-age and height-for-age.

Undernutrition and associated factors in primary schoolchildren in Lokossa, Benin: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Objectives: to estimate the prevalence of stunting and thinness and sociodemographic, household, family, dietary, and scholar associated factors in schoolchildren living in Lokossa-Benin. Methods: a survey conducted in a probabilistic sample (n=615) of primary schoolchildren (8-17 years), from 12/2018 to 01/2019, using structured questionnaire and 24-hour dietary recall. Thinness and stunting were defined as Height-for-age and Body Mass Index-for-age below-2 standard deviations, respectively. Associations were estimated by chi-square test and logistic regression. Results: thinness and stunting prevalence was 13.1% (95%CI:9.0-18.7) and 25.5% (95%CI:20.6-31.2), respectively. Odds of thinness were higher among older schoolchildren and those who experienced hunger at school. Odds of stunting increased with age, low diet diversity, experiencing hunger at school, and having school meal five days a week (OR:2.09; 95%CI:1.29-3.36). Conclusions: stunting was the most common problem. Older schoolchildren and those with food deprivation or poor diet diversity were the most affected.

Nutritional Status of Children with Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Aim: To analyze the nutritional status of children with pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at presentation. Study design: Descriptive prospective study Place and duration of study: Department of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Children Hospital, Lahore from March 2018 to April 2019. Methodology: A total of 195 children diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia on bone marrow biopsy were included. Anthropometric measurements were taken for each patient. Results: Out of 195 diagnosed patients with ALL, majority were having B-cell ALL 165(84.6%) and 30(15.4%) T-cell ALL. There was almost equal number of both standard and high risk patients (49% vs 51%) respectively. Mean age of children was 6.79±3.78 years and there was male predominance 120(61.5%). The percentage of children having weight for age <5th centile was 91(47), only 8(4%) were overweight or obese. Children under the age of five years had a slightly higher propensity of weight <5th centile i.e. 47(51.6%) as compared to older age group 5-10 years 26(28.7%) and >10 years 18(19.7%) (p=0.295).Similarly height for age was <5th centile in 50(26%) children in total, and in under 5 year age group 26(13.3%) but there was no statistically significant difference related to age above 5 years (p=0.547). Conclusion: Pediatric ALL has overall high prevalence of under nutrition and both weight for age and height for age is lower in under-five children as compared to older age group. Keywords: Children, cancer, nutrition, malnutrition, Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia

Midday meals as an early childhood nutrition intervention: evidence from plantation communities in Sri Lanka

Background High rates of child malnutrition are a major public health concern in developing countries, particularly among vulnerable communities. Midday meals programs can be effective for combatting childhood malnutrition among older children. However, their use in early childhood is not well documented, particularly within South Asia. Anthropometric measures and other socioeconomic data were collected for children below the age of 5 years living in selected Sri Lankan tea plantations, to assess the effectiveness of midday meals as a nutrition intervention for improving growth among young children. Methods The study exploits a natural experiment whereby the provision of the midday meals program is exogenously determined at the plantation level, resulting in comparable treatment and control groups. Longitudinal data was collected on heights and weights of children, between 2013 and 2015. Standardized weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height, and binary variables for stunting, wasting and underweight are constructed, following WHO guidelines. All modelling uses STATA SE 15. Random-effects regression with instrumental variables is used for modelling standardized growth while random-effects logistic regression is used for the binary outcomes. Robustness analysis involves different estimation methods and subsamples. Results The dataset comprises of longitudinal data from a total of 1279 children across three tea plantations in Sri Lanka, with 799 children in the treatment group and 480 in the control group. Results show significant positive effects of access to the midday meals program, on the growth of children. A child with access to the midday meals intervention reports an average standardized weight-for-age 0.03 (±0.01) and height-for-age 0.05 (±0.01) units higher than a similar child without access to the intervention. Importantly, access to the intervention reduces the likelihood of being underweight by 0.45 and the likelihood of wasting by 0.47. The results are robust to different model specifications and across different subsamples by gender, birthweight and birth-year cohort. Conclusions Midday meals programs targeting early childhood can be an effective intervention to address high rates of child malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable communities in developing countries like Sri Lanka.

The relationship between wasting and stunting in Cambodian children: Secondary analysis of longitudinal data of children below 24 months of age followed up until the age of 59 months

The interrelationship between wasting and stunting has been poorly investigated. We assessed the association between two indicators of linear growth, height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) change and occurrence of accelerated linear growth, and selected indicators of wasting and wasting reversal in 5,172 Cambodian children aged less than 24 months at enrolment in the ‘MyHealth’ study. The specific objectives were to evaluate the relationship between temporal changes in wasting and 1) change in HAZ and 2) episodes of accelerated linear growth. At enrolment, the stunting and wasting prevalence were 22.2 (21.0;23.3) % and 9.1 (8.1;10.1) %, respectively, and reached 41.4 (39.3;43.6) %, and 12.4 (11.5;13.3) % respectively, two years later. Between 14–19% of stunted children were also wasted throughout the whole study period. For each centimetre increase in Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) from the previous assessment, the HAZ increased by 0.162 (0.150; 0.174) Z-score. We also observed a delayed positive association between the weight for height Z score (WHZ) unit increase and HAZ change of +0.10 to +0.22 units consistent with a positive relationship between linear growth and an increase in WHZ occurring with a lag of approximately three months. A similar positive correlation was observed for the occurrence of an episode of accelerated linear growth. These results show that interventions to prevent and treat wasting can contribute to stunting reduction and call for integrated wasting and stunting programming.

Association between intestinal bacterial carriage, biomarkers of environmental enteric dysfunction and stunting in rural Malawian children

BackgroundGut bacteria Bifidobacterium longum, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Dorea formicigenerans and Akkermansia muciniphila have been implicated in mediation of growth. We investigate the prevalence of these four species, levels of fecal biomarkers of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) and association with stunting in rural Malawian children. Methods DNA and protein were extracted from fecal samples of 613 children (aged 1-59 months) at a baseline cross-sectional survey in the Mangochi district of Malawi conducted within the framework of the MORDOR (Macrolides Oraux pour Réduire les Décès avec un Oeil sur la Résistance) trial. Intestinal carriage of bacteria was measured by PCR. Neopterin, myeloperoxidase and alpha-1 antitrypsin, biomarkers of EED, were measured by ELISA. Height-for-age Z (HAZ) score &lt;-2 defined stunting. Tests of proportions and regression models were used to explore the relationship between bacterial carriage, EED and stunting.Results B. longum carriage in younger children was associated with elevated EED biomarkers. Two thirds of children had elevated NEO, 33% elevated MPO and 16% elevated AAT. Stunting was found in 38% of the children. No significant associations were found between EED biomarkers or intestinal bacteria carriage and stunting.

Desert Locust Invasions and Child Health: Evidence from the Republic of the Niger

This study assesses the extent to which the invasions of desert locust swarms affect child health in the Republic of the Niger. We discover that children exposed to the invasions tend to be shorter for their age, thinner for their age, and thinner for their height. In particular, a one standard deviation increase in the affected area (around 200 ha) is associated with a 0.019 standard deviation reduction in height-for-age, 0.029 standard deviation decrease in weight-for-age, and 0.020 standard deviation decrease in weight-for-height z-score. Given the long-lasting irreparable consequences of poor health in early life throughout the life cycle, the study calls for prompt and effective efforts to prevent the adverse effects of the desert locust swarm invasions.

Growth patterns by sex and age among under-5 children from 87 low-income and middle-income countries

IntroductionAlthough boys tend to be more affected by linear growth faltering than girls, little is known about sex differences across distinct age groups. We aimed to compare sex differences in linear growth throughout the first 5 years of life among children from low-income and middle-income countries.MethodsWe analysed 87 cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Cluster Indicator Surveys (2010–2019). Growth was expressed as height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) based on the 2006 WHO Growth Standards. Sex-specific means were estimated for each country and results were pooled through random-effects meta-analysis for all children and by 12-month age groups. Using linear regression, we assessed the association between sex differences in HAZ and gross domestic product as a proxy for national economic development.ResultsBoys presented lower mean HAZ than girls in the first 30 months. Sex differences were mostly absent between 30 and 45 months, and in several countries, girls had lower HAZ at ages over 45 months. The pooled sex difference (boys minus girls) for the whole sample was −0.10 (95% CI −0.12 to −0.08). The difference was −0.17 (95% CI −0.20 to −0.14) at 0–11 months and −0.22 (95% CI −0.25 to −0.19) at 12–23 months. This was followed by a narrowing of the sex gap to −0.10 (95% CI −0.13 to −0.07) and −0.04 (95% CI −0.07 to −0.01) among children aged 24–35 and 36–47 months, respectively. At 48–59 months, there was evidence of female disadvantage; the mean height-for-age of boys was 0.02 (95% CI 0.00 to 0.05) SDs higher than for girls. Ecological analyses showed that in all age groups, male disadvantage decreased with increasing national income, and this was no longer present for the 4-year-old children, particularly in wealthier countries.ConclusionMale disadvantage in linear growth is most evident in the first years, but by the age of 4 years, the sex gap has mostly disappeared, and in some countries, the gap has been reversed.

Identification and Analysis of Stunting Risk Factors in Children under Three Years of Age in the Area of Kampar Watershed

Growth and development that is not optimal is a form of chronic malnutrition, one of which is marked by height for age which is below the standard deviation (<-2 SD) and is called stunting. Stunting has a negative impact on children's motor development, reduces children's performance in school, increases the risk of excess nutrition, infectious diseases, and even death as well as reduces productivity in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for stunting in people living in the Kampar watershed. This research is a mixed-method with an explanatory sequential design which is a modification of (1–3). The research was carried out on people living in the Kampar river basin. The priority areas for specific stunting reduction interventions in this study are the Work Areas of the Kampar Kiri Hulu II Health Center, the Koto Kampar XIII Health Center, and the Kampar Kiri Health Center. This study found that the dominant factors of the five variables were home sanitation and parenting, as both affected the incidence of stunting. The findings obtained are different from the results of data analysis obtained from interviews, observations, and descriptive statistics. Based on the results of data analysis from interviews, observations, and descriptive statistics, it was found that all variables of the three factors became the main factors that had a close relationship with the incidence of stunting in the community in the Kampar watershed.