Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Entamoeba Histolytica Infection Among Schoolchildren From Three Primary Schools In Arsi Town, West Zone, Ethiopia

Entamoeba histolytica is one of the major pathogenic intestinal parasites and is amongst the leading causes of diarrheal illness in children. Around 500 million people are infected worldwide, while 75,000 die of the disease annually. E. histolytica is associated with moderate to severe diarrhoea and increased mortality among children in African countries and negatively affects child growth and development. Malnutrition is also an important contributor to the prevalence of E. histolytica in Ethiopia. It is mostly associated with poor hygiene, poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to potable water, and a hot, humid tropical climate. Thus, the present investigation was aimed to assess the prevalence rate and associated factors of E. histolytica among schoolchildren in Arsi Town, West Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 1st to May 1st, 2020. A total of 334 students were selected from three governmental elementary schools in the west zone using a systematic sampling method. A structured questionnaire was adopted to identify environmental, socio-demographic, and behavioral factors. Microscopically positive samples for E. histolytica cysts were further characterised using an E. histolytica II antigen detection kit. The statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS software. A univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The overall prevalence of E. histolytica was 19.8%. Hand washing habits before eating [AOR = 0.32; 95% CI (0.12, 0.84)], hand washing habits after defecation [AOR = 0.396; 95% CI (0.165, 0.946)], and ameba awareness [AOR = 0.35; 95% CI (0.142, 0.889)] were factors associated with parasite prevalence.

Recommendations on Complementary Feeding as a Tool for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)—Paper Co-Drafted by the SIPPS, FIMP, SIDOHaD, and SINUPE Joint Working Group

Adequate and balanced nutrition is essential to promote optimal child growth and a long and healthy life. After breastfeeding, the second step is the introduction of complementary feeding (CF), a process that typically covers the period from 6 to 24 months of age. This process is, however, still highly controversial, as it is heavily influenced by socio-cultural choices, as well as by the availability of specific local foods, by family traditions, and pediatrician beliefs. The Società Italiana di Pediatria Preventiva e Sociale (SIPPS) together with the Federazione Italiana Medici Pediatri (FIMP), the Società Italiana per lo Sviluppo e le Origine della Salute e delle Malattie (SIDOHaD), and the Società Italiana di Nutrizione Pediatrica (SINUPE) have developed evidence-based recommendations for CF, given the importance of nutrition in the first 1000 days of life in influencing even long-term health outcomes. This paper includes 38 recommendations, all of them strictly evidence-based and overall addressed to developed countries. The recommendations in question cover several topics such as the appropriate age for the introduction of CF, the most appropriate quantitative and qualitative modalities to be chosen, and the relationship between CF and the development of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) later in life.

Maternal BMI, breastfeeding and perinatal factors that influence early childhood growth trajectories: a scoping review

Obesity rates among children are rapidly rising internationally and have been linked to noncommunicable diseases in adulthood. Individual preventive strategies have not effectively reduced global obesity rates, leading to a gap in clinical services regarding the development of early perinatal interventions. The objective of this scoping review is to explore the relationship between maternal BMI and breastfeeding behaviors on child growth trajectories to determine their relevance in developing interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity. The scoping review was guided and informed by the Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework. A systematic search was performed in four databases. Studies included in the final review were collated and sorted into relevant themes. A systematic search yielded a total of 5831 records (MEDLINE: 1242, EMBASE: 2629, CINAHL: 820, PubMed: 1140). Results without duplicates (n = 4190) were screened based on relevancy of which 197 relevant-full-text articles were retrieved and assessed for eligibility resulting in 14 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and charted for the studies and six themes were identified: (1) healthy behaviors, lifestyle, and social economic status; (2) parental anthropometrics and perinatal weight status; (3) genetics, epigenetics, and fetal programming; (4) early infant feeding; (5) infant growth trajectories; and (6) targeted prevention and interventions. Early life risk factors for child obesity are multifactorial and potentially modifiable. Several at-risk groups were identified who would benefit from early preventative interventions targeting the importance of healthy weight gain, exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months, and healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Maternal internal migration and child growth and nutritional health in Peru: an analysis of the demographic and health surveys from 1991 to 2017

Background Peru has historically experienced high rural-to-urban migration. Despite large reductions in undernutrition, overweight is increasing. Elsewhere, internal migration has been associated with differences in children’s growth and nutritional health. We investigated how child growth and nutritional status in Peru varied over time and in association with maternal internal migration. Methods Using data from Demographic & Health Surveys from 1991 to 2017, we assessed trends in child growth (height-for-age [HAZ], weight-for-age [WAZ], weight-for-height [WHZ] z scores) and nutritional health (stunting, underweight, overweight) by maternal adult internal migration (urban [UNM] or rural non-migrant [RNM], or urban-urban [UUM], rural-urban [RUM], rural-rural [RRM], or urban-rural migrant [URM]). Using 2017 data, we ran regression analyses, adjusting for confounders, to investigate associations of maternal migration with child outcomes and the maternal and child double burden of malnutrition. We further stratified by timing of migration, child timing of birth and, for urban residents, type of area of residence. Results are given as adjusted predictive margins (mean z score or %) and associated regression p-values [p]. Results In 1991–2017, child growth improved, and undernutrition decreased, but large differences by maternal migration persisted. In 2017, within urban areas, being the child of a migrant woman was associated with lower WHZ (UUM = 0.6/RUM = 0.5 vs UNM = 0.7; p = 0.009 and p < 0.001 respectively) and overweight prevalence ((RUM 7% vs UNM = 11% [p = 0.002]). Results however varied both by child timing of birth (birth after migration meant greater overweight prevalence) and type of area of residence (better linear growth in children of migrants [vs non-migrants] in capital/large cities and towns but not small cities). In rural areas, compared to RNM, children of URM had higher HAZ (− 1.0 vs − 1.2; p < 0.001) and WAZ (− 0.3 vs − 0.4; p = 0.001) and lower stunting (14% vs 21%; [p < 0.001]). There were no differences by timing of birth in rural children, nor by time since migration across all children. The mother and child double burden of malnutrition was higher in rural than urban areas but no differences were found by maternal internal migration. Conclusions Migration creates a unique profile of child nutritional health that is not explained by maternal ethnic and early life factors, but which varies depending on the pathway of migration, the child timing of birth in relation to migration and, for urban dwellers, the size of the place of destination. Interventions to improve child nutritional health should take into consideration maternal health and migration history.

Empowerment of Family in Early Detection of Total Growth at Puskesmas Karangrejo Metro

The target number of children in early detection of child development and development in the working area of ??Puskesmas Karangrejo is 1,037 children, with details of 133 infants from 0 - 11 months and 904 children aged 12 - 72 months. Of these, the coverage for early detection until February 2020 is still low, namely at 6.7%. The purpose of the Community Service is to empower families in conducting early detection of toddler growth and development in the Karangrejo Health Center area. The method of activity is health education and empowerment of “active participation” of mothers toddler in stimulating and detecting the growth and development of their children. The result of mentoring was that there was progress in the developmental ability of 1 child who had not been able to walk at the age of 19 months, showing an increase in walking ability after 2 weeks of assistance. There was an increase in the knowledge of mothers / families about growth and development by 12.68 points. There was an increase in the frequency of implementing stimulation for child growth and development by mothers of under-five from 88.2% of mothers who had stimulated to 98.6% after mentoring. Continuity of family empowerment is needed regarding early detection of growth and development and not only involving mothers / families but also involving cadres.

Increasing Paud Teachers Knowledge About Childrens Growth Detection with KPSP

Children are the nation's most valuable asset in the future, monitoring and stimulation of growth and development is one way for children to achieve optimal growth and development. Every child needs to be stimulated and monitored regularly as early as possible appropriately and continuously, both in the family and at school. Monitoring growth and development is carried out to find out whether children grow and develop according to their age and stage of development and can detect deviations in child growth and development. The purpose of this community service is to increase knowledge and provide training to early childhood teachers regarding early detection of child growth and development. This community service method is to conduct counseling about growth and development and early detection, followed by training for early detection of growth and development. Community service results: Pretest results show that of the 35 early childhood teachers who participated in the activity, 13 teachers had poor knowledge, and 12 teachers had sufficient knowledge, and 10 teachers had good knowledge. The results of the posttest after the counseling were 35 early childhood teachers who had good knowledge. The conclusion of community service is: There is an increase in knowledge after counseling on growth and development and early detection.

Play & Grow: prospective observational cohort of toddlers to inform obesity prevention, Columbus, Ohio, USA

PurposeObesity prevention is increasingly focused on early childhood, but toddlers have not been well-studied, and children born preterm are frequently excluded. The Play & Grow Cohort was established to investigate child growth in relation to parent-child interactions in mealtime and non-mealtime settings.ParticipantsBetween December 2017 and May 2019, 300 toddlers and primary caregivers were recruited from records of a large paediatric care provider in Columbus, Ohio, USA. This report describes recruitment of the cohort and outlines the data collection protocols for two toddler and two preschool-age visits. The first study visit coincided with enrolment and occurred when children (57% boys) were a mean (SD) calendar age of 18.2 (0.7) months.Findings to dateChildren in the cohort are diverse relative to gestational age at birth (16%, 28–31 completed weeks’ gestation; 21%, 32–36 weeks’ gestation; 63%, ≥37 weeks’ gestation) and race/ethnicity (8%, Hispanic; 35%, non-Hispanic black; 46%, non-Hispanic white). Caregivers enrolled in the cohort are primarily the child’s biological mother (93%) and are diverse in age (range 18–54 years), education (23%, high school or less; 20% graduate degree) and annual household income (27%, <US$20 000 24%, ≥US$90 000). Parent-child interactions were video-recorded during play in the laboratory at 18 months (n=299) and during play, reading and mealtime in the home (n=284) at 24 months. The preschool phase of the study was impacted by COVID-19. Parent-child interactions were video-recorded during play and mealtime at home at 36 months (n=141) and during a standardised buffet meal in the laboratory at 42 months (n=50). Caregivers unable to participate in face-to-face visits due to COVID-19 completed questionnaires.Future plansAssessment during middle childhood is being planned. Future visits will include anthropometric measurements and parent-child interactions at mealtime. School-based outcomes are additionally being considered.