Child growth from age 1 to age 8 y in four low‐and middle‐income countries: Young Lives

Abstract

ObjectiveWe characterized child growth patterns in four countries and assessed the degree of recovery from linear growth retardation.DesignWe analyzed length/height at ages 1, 5, and 8 y for a cohort of 7,259 children in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam.ResultsMean height‐for‐age z score (HAZ) at age 1 y ranged from −1.83 (Ethiopia) to −1.14 (Vietnam). From ages 1 to 5 y, mean HAZ increased by 0.34 in Ethiopia and decreased among the other countries (range: −0.20 to −0.30). From 5 to 8 y, mean HAZ increased in all the countries (range: 0.20 to 0.38). Stunting prevalence at 1 y ranged from 21.4% (Vietnam) to 46.5% (Ethiopia). From 1 to 5 y, stunting prevalence decreased 15.1 percentage points (PP) in Ethiopia and increased in the other countries (range: 3.1 to 5.3 PP). From 5 to 8 y, stunting prevalence decreased in all the countries. Among children stunted at 1 y, 45% (Vietnam and India) to 66% (Ethiopia) were non‐stunted by 8 y. 40–71% and 26–45% of variance in HAZ at 5 and 8 y, respectively, was not predicted by HAZ at earlier ages.ConclusionsHAZ at age 1 y is predictive of HAZ at ages 5 and 8, but after age 1 there is substantial increase in HAZ overall and substantial unpredicted variation in HAZ change that might be amenable to household interventions and caretaker behaviors after age 1.Source of research support: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Development.