Early Childhood Malnutrition Research Articles

Evaluating Decadal Changes in Determinants of Early Childhood Stunting and Assessing Their Contribution to Socio-economic Disparity in Child Nutritional Status Across India

Various efforts have been made over the years to bring about reduction in child malnutrition; the latest among them involves Goal 2 of the SDGs. The SDG Target 2.2 recognizes the global dimension of the nutrition issue and aims to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030, including achieving, by 2025, (WHO, 2015). The present evidence on childhood malnutrition suggests that while improvement in maternal and child covariates have resulted in decline of childhood stunting over time. The present study aims to investigate how the effect of maternal and child covariates on early childhood malnutrition have changed over the last decade and examining the socio-economic disparity in the nutritional status of children across India. The present study utilizes data from the last two rounds of the National Family Health Survey, NFHS-3 in 2005-06 and NFHS-4 in 2015-16 of children in the age group 6-23 months for whom data on height-for-age was available from the last two rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3 and NFHS-4). After dropping the missing and flagged cases, the total sample size was 12,507 and 68,246 children from NFHS-3 (2005-06) and NFHS-4 (2015-16), respectively. The selected indicator of childhood under nutrition for this study is stunting. The exposure variables selected for the study were child factors such as sex, age, birth order, size at birth, place of delivery, diet diversity, meal frequency and early initiation of breastfeeding. Maternal factors such as maternal education, media exposure, and mother’s BMI were taken into account. For healthcare service utilization we considered the variable of complete antenatal care. Other background characteristics like religion, caste, wealth index, place of residence and geographical region were also considered. We utilized chi-square test to test for the association of various factors with early childhood stunting followed by t-test to assess the changes in prevalence by each factor. We also carried out bivariate and multivariate logistic analysis to effect of various factors on childhood stunting. Lastly, we carried out Oaxaca decomposition to examine the contribution of the determinants of childhood stunting towards the changes in its prevalence over the last ten years. Concentration Index was calculated to examine the disparity in early childhood stunting across India for both rounds of the National Family Health Survey. The predictive probabilities were calculated for each category of the wealth index after fitting a logistic model to control for other determinants of early childhood stunting to assess the change in prevalence of stunting across each socio-economic group in the last ten years. The study reveals an overall decline in prevalence of early childhood stunting across India over the last ten years from 2005-16. However, high levels of variation continue to exist across all the states in India. The study reveals institutional delivery as the highest contributing factor for this decline. Maternal education, body mass index and complete antenatal care during pregnancy also contribute significantly to the improvement in childhood stunting

Early childhood malnutrition impairs adult resting brain function using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Early childhood malnutrition affects 200+ million children under 5 years of age worldwide and is associated with persistent cognitive, behavioral and psychiatric impairments in adulthood. However, very few studies have investigated the long-term effects of childhood protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) on brain function using a functional hemodynamic brain imaging technique. This study aims to investigate functional brain network alterations using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in adults, aged 45-51 years, from the Barbados Nutrition Study (BNS) who suffered from a single episode of malnutrition restricted to their first year of life (n = 26) and controls (n = 29). A total of 55 individuals from the BNS cohort underwent NIRS recording at rest. Using functional connectivity and permutation analysis, we found patterns of increased Pearson's correlation with a specific vulnerability of the frontal cortex in the PEM group (ps < 0.05). Using a graph theoretical approach, mixed ANCOVAs showed increased segregation (ps = 0.0303 and 0.0441) and decreased integration (p = 0.0498) in previously malnourished participants compared to healthy controls. These results can be interpreted as a compensatory mechanism to preserve cognitive functions, that could also be related to premature or pathological brain aging. To our knowledge, this study is the first NIRS neuroimaging study revealing brain function alterations in middle adulthood following early childhood malnutrition limited to the first year of life.

Exploring the association between early childhood caries, malnutrition, and anemia by machine learning algorithm.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of early childhood caries in children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and also the hierarchy of association if any with malnutrition, anemia, and other risk factors with ECC using machine learning algorithms. A hospital-based preventive and interventional study was conducted on SAM children (age = 2 to <6 years) who were admitted to the malnutrition treatment unit (MTU). An oral examination for early childhood caries status was done using the deft index. The anthropometric measurements and blood examination reports were recorded. Oral health education and preventive dental treatments were given to the admitted children. Three machine learning algorithms (Random Tree, CART, and Neural Network) were applied to assess the relationship between early childhood caries, malnutrition, anemia, and the risk factors. The Random Tree model showed that age was the most significant factor in predicting ECC with predictor importance of 98.75%, followed by maternal education (29.20%), hemoglobin level (16.67%), frequency of snack intake (9.17%), deft score (8.75%), consumption of snacks (7.1%), breastfeeding (6.25%), severe acute malnutrition (5.42%), frequency of sugar intake (3.75%), and religion at the minimum predictor importance of 2.08%. Anemia and malnutrition play a significant role in the prediction, hence in the causation of ECC. Pediatricians should also keep in mind that anemia and malnutrition have a negative impact on children's dental health. Hence, Pediatricians and Pediatric dentist should work together in treating this health problem.

Effectiveness of a Standardised Educational Package for Mothers of Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition: A Hospital-based Randomised Controlled Trial

Introduction: Malnutrition is a major public health problem, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), contributing significantly to under-five mortality. New strategies are needed to enhance outcomes for childhood malnutrition. Aim: To evaluate the impact of an educational package on mothers of children hospitalised with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based randomised controlled trial conducted in the Department of Paediatrics at Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. Only children hospitalised between 6 months and 59 months of age with SAM were included and randomised into an Intervention group and a Control group. In the intervention group, verbal, pictorial, and demonstration techniques were used to educate the mothers. Anthropometric measurements of malnourished children and maternal knowledge scores were compared at baseline, 15 days, and two months postdischarge. Frequency and percentage were calculated for qualitative data analysis, while mean values with standard deviations were calculated for quantitative data. Independent t-tests and paired t-tests were applied, and paired t-tests were used for within-group comparisons at different time points. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel software, and analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Results: The mean age of children was 1.4±0.9 years, with the majority below two years of age (86.4%). The male-to-female ratio was 1.04 (n=154 versus n=148). Most subjects belonged to lower or upper-lower socio-economic classes (75%). Mothers were commonly educated up to the primary school level (48%). Both study groups had similar socio-demographic profiles. There was a significant weight gain (p-value &lt;0.01) and height gain (p-value &lt;0.01) in the intervention group at the end of the follow-up period. Maternal knowledge gain in the intervention group was also significantly higher than in the control group (p-value &lt;0.01). Conclusion: This study supports maternal educational strategies as a low-cost intervention to address early childhood malnutrition in resource-limited settings. Further research is needed to standardise the intervention and assess long-term impact.

Association of both Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices with childhood malnutrition in Lao PDR: a cross-sectional study of the 2017 Lao Social Indicator Survey II

ObjectiveWe assessed whether Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF), either alone or combined, were associated with malnutrition among Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR)...

Spectral quantitative and semi-quantitative EEG provide complementary information on the life-long effects of early childhood malnutrition on cognitive decline.

This study compares the complementary information from semi-quantitative EEG (sqEEG) and spectral quantitative EEG (spectral-qEEG) to detect the life-long effects of early childhood malnutrition on the brain. Resting-state EEGs (N = 202) from the Barbados Nutrition Study (BNS) were used to examine the effects of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) on childhood and middle adulthood outcomes. sqEEG analysis was performed on Grand Total EEG (GTE) protocol, and a single latent variable, the semi-quantitative Neurophysiological State (sqNPS) was extracted. A univariate linear mixed-effects (LME) model tested the dependence of sqNPS and nutritional group. sqEEG was compared with scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Stable sparse classifiers (SSC) also measured the predictive power of sqEEG, spectral-qEEG, and a combination of both. Multivariate LME was applied to assess each EEG modality separately and combined under longitudinal settings. The univariate LME showed highly significant differences between previously malnourished and control groups (p < 0.001); age (p = 0.01) was also significant, with no interaction between group and age detected. Childhood sqNPS (p = 0.02) and adulthood sqNPS (p = 0.003) predicted MoCA scores in adulthood. The SSC demonstrated that spectral-qEEG combined with sqEEG had the highest predictive power (mean AUC 0.92 ± 0.005). Finally, multivariate LME showed that the combined spectral-qEEG+sqEEG models had the highest log-likelihood (-479.7). This research has extended our prior work with spectral-qEEG and the long-term impact of early childhood malnutrition on the brain. Our findings showed that sqNPS was significantly linked to accelerated cognitive aging at 45-51 years of age. While sqNPS and spectral-qEEG produced comparable results, our study indicated that combining sqNPS and spectral-qEEG yielded better performance than either method alone, suggesting that a multimodal approach could be advantageous for future investigations. Based on our findings, a semi-quantitative approach utilizing GTE could be a valuable diagnostic tool for detecting the lasting impacts of childhood malnutrition. Notably, sqEEG has not been previously explored or reported as a biomarker for assessing the longitudinal effects of malnutrition. Furthermore, our observations suggest that sqEEG offers unique features and information not captured by spectral quantitative EEG analysis and could lead to its improvement.

EDUKASI “HOMEMADE HEALTHY FOOD” PADA IBU TENTANG PEMANFAATAN BISKUIT DARI TEPUNG BIJI NANGKA UNTUK MENGATASI MASALAH GIZI PADA ANAK USIA DINI DI PAUD TERPADU AISYIYAH BUSTANUL ATHFAL-27

Early childhood nutritional problems have an impact on growth and development delays that are difficult to cure. Therefore children who have nutritional problems have limited abilities to learn and work and behave compared to normal children and have quite a large potential if they grow into adults who are less healthy. The problem of undernutrition or stunting in Indonesia is still a concern for the government. The prevalence of malnutrition and undernutrition, as much as 3.9% with malnutrition and 13.8% with undernutrition. The prevalence is related to height, there are 11.5% very short and 19.3% short toddlers. The incidence of undernutrition or stunting at the Amplas Health Center in Medan city in August 2022 was 10 people occurring in early childhood. In general, the feeding schedule for early childhood is 3 main meals and 2 side dishes, by providing side dishes in the form of snacks/snacks or healthy snacks that can help meet their nutritional needs. These children's snacks can use local food ingredients because of the affordability of prices and the availability of these ingredients in the surrounding environment. Aisyiyah Integrated PAUD Medan Amplas District is one of the early childhood education centers that carries out learning in an educative and interesting way. In addition, the implementation of monitoring from health workers includes body weight, height and head circumference periodically once a month, but this examination is not balanced with the mother's knowledge about the causes of undernutrition, and complementary food given to children to improve the child's nutritional status to be good To help Aisyiyah Early Childhood Education in increasing knowledge of overcoming the problem of malnutrition in early childhood, it is necessary to socialize education about the use of food from jackfruit seed flour to make biscuits. Utilization Jackfruit seed is a non-economic material and as a waste product for jackfruit consumers. Based on the description above, the problems that can be formulated include how to increase the knowledge of mothers who have early childhood at PAUD Aisyiyah in Medan Amplas about preventing nutritional problems and using jackfruit seeds to make biscuits as a snack. The target of this community service activity is mothers who have early childhood. The purpose of this activity is for mothers with young children to know how to prevent nutritional problems, know the content of jackfruit seeds to prevent nutritional problems and can use jackfruit seed biscuits to prevent nutritional problems in children. The method of implementing the community service which was carried out on January 6, 2023 included delivering community service materials, direct practice (learning by doing) making biscuits from jackfruit seed flour, and providing assistance.

Nutritional status and its effect on dental health among children

Nutritional status has a significant role in oral health and disease. Protein deficiency is the key deficiency in intermediate malnutrition. Malnutrition can disrupt homeostasis, resulting in disease progression of the oral cavity, decreased resistance to microbial biofilm, and decreased tissue healing capacity. This paper examines the association between malnutrition, protein-energy malnutrition, and dental health. Malnutrition is a risk factor for several dental diseases, such as dental caries and periodontal diseases. Studies have suggested that enamel hypoplasia, salivary gland hypofunction, and compositional changes in the saliva may be the mechanisms through which malnutrition is associated with caries. The exfoliation and eruption of teeth are impacted by malnutrition, or protein energy malnutrition (PEM), starting in the early years and continuing throughout infancy. The risk of hypoplasia was higher in malnourished children. The development of hypocalcemia as a result of diarrhoea in chronic undernutrition may explain the link between PEM and poor enamel formation. Deficiencies of vitamins A, C, and D are found to be associated with hypoplasia. Protein-deficit malnutrition and low vitamin D levels, as well as obesity, are risk factors for dental caries in children. Early childhood malnutrition affects salivary gland hypofunction and compositional changes in the saliva, and these might be the mechanisms through which malnutrition is associated with caries. Early childhood protein-energy malnutrition (ECPEM) is associated with poor periodontal status and causes cancrum oris, necrotizing gingivitis, and other periodontal disease conditions, as well as symptoms that mimic periodontal conditions.

EDUCATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF POOR NUTRITION AT TUGU ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The purpose of this study was to provide education regarding the prevention of malnutrition in early childhood at Tugu Elementary School, Cihideung Village, Parongpong, Indonesia. The method used is a qualitative descriptive study, which describes the situation in the field with social activities by providing educational insight on the theme entitled prevention of malnutrition at an early age. This research was conducted on 18 3rd grade students of Tugu Elementary School, Cihideung Village, Parongpong, Indonesia. With an age range of 8-9 years. Respondents consisted of 8 boys and 10 girls. This research was conducted through 3 stages, namely (1) pre-test; (2) providing education through learning media; and (3) post-test. The results obtained from this study there is a change in children's habits in consuming nutritious foods that contain carbohydrates or protein. And it can also be seen from the results of the pre-test and post-test that there is an increase in each statement given. With this research, it is hoped children can sort and choose nutritious foods or not and also with this research, it is expected to reduce the problem of malnutrition.

EDUCATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF POOR NUTRITION AT TUGU ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The purpose of this study was to provide education regarding the prevention of malnutrition in early childhood at Tugu Elementary School, Cihideung Village, Parongpong, Indonesia. The method used is a qualitative descriptive study, which describes the situation in the field with social activities by providing educational insight on the theme entitled prevention of malnutrition at an early age. This research was conducted on 18 3rd grade students of Tugu Elementary School, Cihideung Village, Parongpong, Indonesia. With an age range of 8-9 years. Respondents consisted of 8 boys and 10 girls. This research was conducted through 3 stages, namely (1) pre-test; (2) providing education through learning media; and (3) post-test. The results obtained from this study there is a change in children's habits in consuming nutritious foods that contain carbohydrates or protein. And it can also be seen from the results of the pre-test and post-test that there is an increase in each statement given. With this research, it is hoped children can sort and choose nutritious foods or not and also with this research, it is expected to reduce the problem of malnutrition.

Education For The Prevention Of Poor Nutrition At Tugu Elementary School

The purpose of this study was to provide education regarding the prevention of malnutrition in early childhood at Tugu Elementary School, Cihideung Village, Parongpong, Indonesia. The method used is a qualitative descriptive study, which describes the situation in the field with social activities by providing educational insight on the theme entitled prevention of malnutrition at an early age. This research was conducted on 18 3rd grade students of Tugu Elementary School, Cihideung Village, Parongpong, Indonesia. With an age range of 8-9 years. Respondents consisted of 8 boys and 10 girls. This research was conducted through 3 stages, namely (1) pre-test; (2) providing education through learning media; and (3) post-test. The results obtained from this study there is a change in children's habits in consuming nutritious foods that contain carbohydrates or protein. And it can also be seen from the results of the pre-test and post-test that there is an increase in each statement given. With this research, it is hoped children can sort and choose nutritious foods or not and also with this research, it is expected to reduce the problem of malnutrition.

Impact of Early Childhood Malnutrition on Adult Brain Function: An Evoked-Related Potentials Study.

More than 200 million children under the age of 5 years are affected by malnutrition worldwide according to the World Health Organization. The Barbados Nutrition Study (BNS) is a 55-year longitudinal study on a Barbadian cohort with histories of moderate to severe protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) limited to the first year of life and a healthy comparison group. Using quantitative electroencephalography (EEG), differences in brain function during childhood (lower alpha1 activity and higher theta, alpha2 and beta activity) have previously been highlighted between participants who suffered from early PEM and controls. In order to determine whether similar differences persisted into adulthood, our current study used recordings obtained during a Go-No-Go task in a subsample of the original BNS cohort [population size (N) = 53] at ages 45–51 years. We found that previously malnourished adults [sample size (n) = 24] had a higher rate of omission errors on the task relative to controls (n = 29). Evoked-Related Potentials (ERP) were significantly different in participants with histories of early PEM, who presented with lower N2 amplitudes. These findings are typically associated with impaired conflict monitoring and/or attention deficits and may therefore be linked to the attentional and executive function deficits that have been previously reported in this cohort in childhood and again in middle adulthood.

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid improves glucose tolerance and reduces adiposity in normal protein and malnourished mice fed a high-fat diet

Early childhood malnutrition may facilitate the onset of obesity and diabetes mellitus in adulthood which, when established, makes it more resistant to therapeutic interventions. The beneficial effects of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) in glucose homeostasis and body fat accumulation were analyzed in protein-restricted mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). C57BL/6 mice were fed a control (14% protein [C]) or a protein‐restricted (6% protein [R]) diet for 6 weeks. Afterward, mice received an HFD or not for 12 weeks (C mice fed an HFD [CH] and R mice fed an HFD [RH]). In the last 15 days of this period, half of the mice fed a HFD received i.p. PBS (groups CH and RH) or 300 mg/kg TUDCA (groups CHT and RHT). RH mice developed obesity, as demonstrated by the increase in fat accumulation, liver steatosis, and metabolic inflexibility. Additionally, showed glucose intolerance and insulin hypersecretion. TUDCA reduced adiposity and improve metabolic flexibility through increased HSL phosphorylation and CPT1 expression in eWAT and BAT, and reduced ectopic fat deposition by activating the AMPK/HSL pathway in the liver. Also, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, normalizing insulin secretion by reducing GDH expression and increasing insulin peripheral sensitivity by greater expression of the IRβ in muscle and adipose tissue and reducing PEPCK liver expression. Our data indicate that TUDCA reduces global adiposity and improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in protein malnourished mice fed a HFD. Therefore, this is a possible strategy to reverse metabolic disorders in individuals with the double burden of malnutrition.

Liver fat in adult survivors of severe acute malnutrition

The association between severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in early childhood and liver fat in adults is unknown. We hypothesized that exposure to SAM, especially severe wasting, is associated with fatty liver later in life. In this observational study, abdominal CT was used to quantify mean liver attenuation (MLA) and liver:spleen attenuation ratio (L/S). Birth weight (BW), serum lipids, insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment), anthropometry and intrabdominal fat were collected. Mean differences between diagnostic groups were tested and hierarchical regression analysis determined the best predictors of liver fat. We studied 88 adult SAM survivors and 84 community participants (CPs); age 29.0 ± 8.4 years, BMI 23.5 ± 5.0 kg/m2 (mean ± SDs). SAM survivors had less liver fat than CPs (using L/S) (p = 0.025). Severe wasting survivors (SWs) had lower BW (-0.51 kg; p = 0.02), were younger, thinner and had smaller waist circumference than oedematous malnutrition survivors (OMs). In the final regression model adjusting for age, sex, birth weight and SAM phenotype (i.e., oedematous malnutrition or severe wasting), SWs had more liver fat than OMs (using MLA) (B = 2.6 ± 1.3; p = 0.04) but similar liver fat using L/S (p = 0.07) and lower BW infants had less liver fat (MLA) (B = -1.8 ± 0.8; p = 0.03). Greater liver fat in SWs than OMs, despite having less body fat, supports our hypothesis of greater cardiometabolic risk in SWs. Other postnatal factors might influence greater liver fat in survivors of severe wasting, suggesting the need to monitor infants exposed to SAM beyond the acute episode.

PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF MALNUTRITION AMONG SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN AGED 13-17 YEARS IN A SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF KERALA

Background: Malnutrition can be divided into two broad groups, undernutrition and overweight or obesity. Malnutrition in early childhood and adolescence can lead to a large number of complications in later life. This study is intended to nd out the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among school going children aged 13-17 years in a southern district in Kerala and to assess the factors associated with malnutrition among the study population. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 340 school going children in the age group of 13-17 years in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala during October to November 2019. The children were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire including sociodemographic details, questions on dietary habits, pattern of physical activity, self-awareness and family history. Anthropometric measurements such as height and weight of the students were taken and BMI was calculated. Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed by SPSS software version 21. Results And Conclusion: 53.8% of the study participants were underweight, 5.9% were overweight and 2.1% belonged to the obese category. The factors such as grade of the student (p value:0.004), mother's occupation (p value:0.001), practice of skipping breakfast (p value:0.008), physical inactivity (p value:0.033), use of online food delivery facilities (p value:0.022), lack of awareness on self-health (p value:0.018), family history of obesity (p value:&lt;0.001) and family history of non-communicable diseases (p value:0.002) were found to have a statistically signicant association with malnutrition. Therefore, it is important to take initiatives to tackle the problem of malnutrition among adolescents to bring up a healthy future generation.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in a tertiary care hospital in Kashmir India-five year retrospective study

Intestinal parasitic infections represent a grave public health problem especially in developing nations like India, leading to malnutrition, growth retardation, anaemia’s and vitamin deficiencies in early childhood. As such the burden of these intestinal parasitic infections in the society needs to be focussed at the right time which will in turn lead to enhanced health and improved economic conditions of the country. To find out the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in a tertiary care hospital in Kashmir. A retrospective study was carried out in the Parasitology division in the department of Microbiology of Government Medical College, Srinagar for a period of five years. Routine stool examination was studied to detect the parasitic infections among the patients attending various outpatient departments of our hospital. A total of 2159 stool samples were examined in five years out of which 165 (7.6%) revealed the presence of parasites. The most common parasite identified was (71.9%) followed by Giardia lamblia (16.4%).Intestinal infection due to was the most common parasite identified in our study. The prevalence of these infections can still be higher as these parasites are excreted intermittently in stool samples. As such taking repeat samples from same patients suffering from intestinal parasitic infection is important followed by concentration methods, which together will help and enhance better retrieval of intestinal parasites reflecting the total burden of these infections in our community.

The impact of cash and health insurance on child nutrition during the first 1000 days: Evidence from Ghana

Child malnutrition remains a major global public health issue, with 155 million children under five stunted and 52 million children wasted. Social protection, in the form of cash transfer programmes, has been identified as a potential nutrition-sensitive intervention to address malnutrition in early childhood. This study documents the impacts on young child nutrition outcomes and underlying determinants of a Ghanaian cash transfer programme paired with health insurance fee exemptions, targeted to pregnant women and infants under one year. We use data from a 24-month quasi-experimental impact evaluation which exploits the fact that households were selected into the programme based on a continuous programme eligibility index. Using a difference-in-difference approach, our study finds no main treatment effect on nutritional outcomes. Household-level food security improved, yet child meal frequency decreased, suggesting an important role for the intra-household allocation of resources. We conclude that cash alone is unlikely to yield impacts on young child nutrition outcomes and integrated programmes that aim to address multiple underlying determinants at the same time need to be further examined, including effects on the intra-household division of resources.

Oral language, phonological processing, and visuospatial memory in children with a history of mild malnutrition in early childhood

RESUMO Objetivo investigar o desempenho de crianças com histórico de subnutrição de grau leve na primeira infância, em tarefas que avaliam a linguagem oral, processamento fonológico e memória visuoespacial. Método participaram 36 crianças (media de idade 5,3 anos; desvio padrão = 0,57), sendo nove crianças que tiveram diagnóstico de subnutrição entre 0 e 3 anos de idade (G1); nove eutróficas e com atraso de linguagem (G2) e 18 crianças eutróficas com desenvolvimento típico de linguagem (G3). Todas foram submetidas a procedimentos de triagem auditiva, diagnóstico do estado nutricional atual e testes de linguagem, processamento fonológico e de memória operacional - esboço visuoespacial. Foi realizada análise estatística por meio do Teste de Igualdade de Proporções e Kruskal-Wallis (α = 5%). Resultados foram observadas diferenças no desempenho nas tarefas de linguagem receptiva e expressiva de G1 e G2, em relação ao G3. O desempenho nas tarefas de memória de trabalho - esboço visuoespacial foi significativamente diferente entre G1 e G3 e G2 e G3. Não houve diferença entre os grupos no teste de vocabulário emissivo, aspecto fonológico, consciência fonológica e memória operacional fonológica. Conclusão crianças com histórico de subnutrição de grau leve durante o período crítico de desenvolvimento cerebral podem apresentar prejuízos na linguagem, principalmente na área receptiva, e desempenho restrito em outras habilidades cognitivas, tais como memória de trabalho - esboço visuoespacial.

Linguagem oral, processamento fonológico e memória visuoespacial em crianças com histórico de subnutrição leve na primeira infância

ABSTRACT Purpose To investigate the performance of children with a history of mild malnutrition in early childhood in tasks that assess oral language, phonological processing and visuospatial memory. Methods Thirty-six children participated (mean age 5.3 years; standard deviation = 0.57), with 9 children diagnosed with malnutrition between 0 and 3 years old (G1); 9 eutrophic and with language delay (G2) and; 18 eutrophic children with typical language development (G3). All were submitted to hearing screening procedures, diagnosis of current nutritional status and tests of language, phonological processing and working memory - visuospatial sketch. Statistical analysis was performed using the Test of Equality of Proportions and the Kruskal-Wallis test (α = 5%). Results Differences were observed in the performance in receptive and expressive language tasks of G1 and G2 in relation to G3. Performance on working memory tasks - visuospatial sketch was significantly different between G1 and G3 and G2 and G3. There was no difference between the groups concerning expressivevocabulary, phonological aspect, phonological awareness and phonological working memory. Conclusion Children with a history of mild malnutrition during the critical period of brain development may have language impairments, especially in the receptive area, and restricted performance in other cognitive skills, such as working memory - visuospatial sketch.

Nutritional Status and Intelligence Quotient of Preschool Children in Sunsari, Nepal

Introduction: Nutritional status has vital role on brain development of children during pregnancy and the first two years of life. Children who suffered from early childhood malnutrition have generally been found to have poorer IQ levels.&#x0D; Objective: To find out Nutritional Status and Intelligence Quotient of Preschool Children in Bhutaha VDC, Sunsari, Nepal.&#x0D; Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional design was used for the study. Proportionately 250 preschool children were selected. Data was collected by using self developed semi structured questionnaires for socio-demographic profiles, stadiometer and weighing scale for height and weight measurement respectively. Nutritional status was classified according to World Health Organization (WHO) standard. For an assessment of IQ, Indian Adaptation of Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) and Developmental Screening Test (DST) scale were used. These scales provide an estimate of social quotient (SQ) and development quotient (DQ) and are designed to measure social maturation of age group 'below 15 years'. Data were analyzed using Pearson chi-square.&#x0D; Result: Among all, 51.2% of the children were male and most (80%) of the children were from Muslim ethnicity. Mean ± SD age of the children was 51.80±12.31 months. Almost all i.e., 98.4% of the children were delivered by normal vagina delivery and majority i.e., 78% of the children were delivered at home. Nearly equal proportions of children were from nuclear and non nuclear family. Prevalence of stunting and wasting were 28.4% and 8.4% respectively. Among 250 children, 11.6% had superior IQ, 52.4% had bright normal and 36% had average IQ. Mother’s education and malnutrition of children were significantly associated with IQ of children i.e., p=0.006, p=0.011 respectively.&#x0D; Conclusion: Mother’s education has great impact on Intelligence Quotient of children. Intelligence is strongly related to nutritional status. Poor nutrition leads to poor IQ, which results in poor academic achievements. To prevent this, priority should be given for the prevention of malnutrition which ultimately improves the intelligence of children.