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Thurstans S, Opondo C, Bailey J, Stobaugh H, Loddo F, Wrottesley SV, Seal A, Myatt M, Briend A, Garenne M, Mertens A, Wells J, Sear R, Kerac M. How age and sex affect treatment outcomes for children with severe malnutrition: A multi-country secondary data analysis. MATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION 2024; 20:e13596. [PMID: 38048342 PMCID: PMC11168354 DOI: 10.1111/mcn.13596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Age and sex influence the risk of childhood wasting. We aimed to determine if wasting treatment outcomes differ by age and sex in children under 5 years, enroled in therapeutic and supplementary feeding programmes. Utilising data from stage 1 of the ComPAS trial, we used logistic regression to assess the association between age, sex and wasting treatment outcomes (recovery, death, default, non-response, and transfer), modelling the likelihood of recovery versus all other outcomes. We used linear regression to calculate differences in mean length of stay (LOS) and mean daily weight gain by age and sex. Data from 6929 children from Kenya, Chad, Yemen and South Sudan was analysed. Girls in therapeutic feeding programmes were less likely to recover than boys (pooled odds ratio [OR]: 0.84, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72-0.97, p = 0.018). This association was statistically significant in Chad (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.39-0.95, p = 0.030) and Yemen (OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.27-0.81, p = 0.006), but not in Kenya and South Sudan. Multinomial analysis, however, showed no difference in recovery between sexes. There was no difference between sexes for LOS, but older children (24-59 months) had a shorter mean LOS than younger children (6-23 months). Mean daily weight gain was consistently lower in boys compared with girls. We found few differences in wasting treatment outcomes by sex and age. The results do not indicate a need to change current programme inclusion requirements or treatment protocols on the basis of sex or age, but future research in other settings should continue to investigate the aetiology of differences in recovery and implications for treatment protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Thurstans
- Department of Population HealthLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondonUK
| | - Charles Opondo
- Department of Medical StatisticsLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondonUK
- National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population HealthUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | | | | | | | | | - Andy Seal
- UCL Institute for Global HealthLondonUK
| | | | - André Briend
- Tampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health ResearchTampere University and Tampere University HospitalTampereFinland
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and SportsUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Michel Garenne
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMI RésiliencesBondyFrance
- Department of Statistics and Population StudiesUniversity of the Western CapeCape TownSouth Africa
- FERDIUniversité d'AuvergneClermont‐FerrandFrance
- MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health SciencesUniversity of the WitwatersrandJohannesburgSouth Africa
| | - Andrew Mertens
- University of California, Berkeley School of Public HealthBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jonathan Wells
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching DepartmentUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child HealthLondonUK
| | - Rebecca Sear
- Department of Population HealthLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondonUK
| | - Marko Kerac
- Department of Population HealthLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondonUK
- Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive & Child Health Centre (MARCH)London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineLondonUK
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Potani I, Daniel AI, Briend A, Courtney-Martin G, Berkley JA, Voskuijl W, Vresk L, Bourdon C, Kathumba S, Mbale E, Bandsma RHJ. A protocol for a proof-of-concept randomized control trial testing increased protein quantity and quality in ready-to-use therapeutic food in improving linear growth among 6-23-month-old children with severe wasting in Malawi. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287680. [PMID: 37619218 PMCID: PMC10449476 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) have successfully promoted recovery from severe wasting and increased treatment coverage. However, RUTFs do not sufficiently improve linear growth, leaving many survivors of severe wasting at risk of persistent stunting, which is associated with high mortality risk, poor child development and non-communicable diseases in adulthood. High protein quantity and quality can stimulate linear growth. AIM The trial aims to assess whether higher-protein-RUTF leads to higher concentrations of markers of linear growth compared to standard RUTF among 6-23 months old children with severe wasting. METHODS We designed a higher protein quantity and quality RUTF for a proof-of-concept (PoC) double-blind randomized controlled trial. OUTCOMES The primary outcome is a change in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a hormone positively associated with linear growth after four weeks of treatment. Secondary outcomes include changes in ponderal and linear growth and in body composition from baseline to eight weeks later; plasma amino acid profile at four weeks; acceptability and safety. IMPLICATIONS These findings will help in informing the potential impact of increased protein in RUTF on linear growth when treating severe wasting towards conducting a larger clinical trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION The trial has been registered on clinicaltrial.gov (NCT05737472).
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Potani
- Translational Medicine Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Allison I. Daniel
- Translational Medicine Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Independent Nutrition Consultant, Toronto, Canada
| | - André Briend
- Centre for Child Health Research, University of Tampere School of Medicine, Tampere, Finland
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Glenda Courtney-Martin
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - James A. Berkley
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Clinical Research Department, Kenya Medical Research Institute–Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya
| | - Wieger Voskuijl
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
- Amsterdam Universtair Medische Centra, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Centre for Global Child Health, Emma Children’s Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Vresk
- Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Celine Bourdon
- Translational Medicine Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Sylvester Kathumba
- Department of Nutrition and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - Emmie Mbale
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Robert H. J. Bandsma
- Translational Medicine Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
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Gasparinho C, Gonçalves MH, Chissaque A, Silva GL, Fortes F, Gonçalves L. Wasting, Stunting, and Anemia in Angolan Children after Deworming with Albendazole or a Test-and-Treat Approach for Intestinal Parasites: Binary Longitudinal Models with Temporal Structure in a Four-Arm Randomized Trial. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14112185. [PMID: 35683985 PMCID: PMC9183140 DOI: 10.3390/nu14112185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Undernutrition, anemia, and intestinal parasitic infections are public health problems in Angola, especially in pre-school children. We analyzed binary data from a longitudinal four-arm randomized parallel trial conducted in Bengo Province, northern Angola, over the course of two years, with seven follow-up assessments to explore the effects of four interventions (deworming and a test-and-treat approach for intestinal parasites, at both the individual and household levels) on wasting and stunting, and to understand their indirect benefits for anemia, malaria, diarrhea, and vomiting. A total of 121 children with intestinal parasitic infections received baseline treatment, and were allocated to the four arms (1:1:1:1). Using continuous outcome variables of height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-height (WHZ) statistical approaches did not reveal a clear benefit of any particular arm (Pathogens 2021, 10, 309). Next, HAZ and WHZ were transformed into binary variables of stunting and wasting, respectively, considering their mild-to-severe (Z-score < −1) and moderate-to-severe degrees (Z-score < −2). Original clinical data (on anemia, diarrhea, vomiting, and malaria) were also analyzed. From a binary longitudinal analysis with different dependence structures, using the R package bild, fitted models revealed the potential benefit of a test-and-treat approach at the individual level for wasting compared with annual albendazole at the individual level, especially considering mild-to-severe forms (ORadj = 0.27; p = 0.007). All arms showed similar effects on stunting, compared with annual albendazole, at a 5% significance level. Time and age at baseline presented favorable effects in the percentage of stunting using both severity degrees. Results showed a decreased chance of having anemia and diarrhea over time, although with no significant differences between arms. Data from longitudinal studies are essential to study the direct and indirect effects of interventions, such as deworming, and to explore additional approaches aiming at better understanding the temporal structure of nutrition and health outcomes in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Gasparinho
- Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Angola (CISA), Rua Direita de Caxito, Caxito, Angola
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.C.); (F.F.)
- Correspondence: (C.G.); (L.G.)
| | - Maria Helena Gonçalves
- Departamento de Matemática, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal;
- Centro de Estatística e Aplicações da Universidade de Lisboa (CEAUL), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal;
| | - Assucênio Chissaque
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.C.); (F.F.)
- Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Distrito de Marracuene, Maputo 264, Mozambique
| | - Giovani L. Silva
- Centro de Estatística e Aplicações da Universidade de Lisboa (CEAUL), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal;
- Departamento de Matemática, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Filomeno Fortes
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.C.); (F.F.)
| | - Luzia Gonçalves
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal; (A.C.); (F.F.)
- Centro de Estatística e Aplicações da Universidade de Lisboa (CEAUL), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal;
- Correspondence: (C.G.); (L.G.)
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Thurstans S, Opondo C, Seal A, Wells JC, Khara T, Dolan C, Briend A, Myatt M, Garenne M, Mertens A, Sear R, Kerac M. Understanding Sex Differences in Childhood Undernutrition: A Narrative Review. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14050948. [PMID: 35267923 PMCID: PMC8912557 DOI: 10.3390/nu14050948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Complementing a recent systematic review and meta-analysis which showed that boys are more likely to be wasted, stunted, and underweight than girls, we conducted a narrative review to explore which early life mechanisms might underlie these sex differences. We addressed different themes, including maternal and newborn characteristics, immunology and endocrinology, evolutionary biology, care practices, and anthropometric indices to explore potential sources of sex differences in child undernutrition. Our review found that the evidence on why sex differences occur is limited but that a complex interaction of social, environmental, and genetic factors likely underlies these differences throughout the life cycle. Despite their bigger size at birth and during infancy, in conditions of food deprivation, boys experience more undernutrition from as early as the foetal period. Differences appear to be more pronounced in more severe presentations of undernutrition and in more socioeconomically deprived contexts. Boys are more vulnerable to infectious disease, and differing immune and endocrine systems appear to explain some of this disadvantage. Limited evidence also suggests that different sociological factors and care practices might exert influence and have the potential to exacerbate or reverse observed differences. Further research is needed to better understand sex differences in undernutrition and the implications of these for child outcomes and prevention and treatment programming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Thurstans
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK; (R.S.); (M.K.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Charles Opondo
- Department of Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK;
- National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
| | - Andrew Seal
- UCL Institute for Global Health, London WC1E 6BT, UK;
| | - Jonathan C. Wells
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK;
| | - Tanya Khara
- Emergency Nutrition Network, Oxford OX5 2DN, UK; (T.K.); (C.D.)
| | - Carmel Dolan
- Emergency Nutrition Network, Oxford OX5 2DN, UK; (T.K.); (C.D.)
| | - André Briend
- Center for Child Health Research, School of Medicine, Tampere University, 33520 Tampere, Finland;
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mark Myatt
- Brixton Health, Llwyngwril, Gwynedd LL37 2JD, Wales, UK;
| | - Michel Garenne
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMI Résiliences, 93140 Bondy, France;
- Institut Pasteur, Epidémiologie des Maladies Emergentes, 75015 Paris, France
- Senior Fellow, FERDI, Université d’Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
- MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
| | - Andrew Mertens
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA;
| | - Rebecca Sear
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK; (R.S.); (M.K.)
| | - Marko Kerac
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK; (R.S.); (M.K.)
- Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive & Child Health Centre (MARCH), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
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Lee WS, Jalaludin MY, Khoh KM, Kok JL, Nadarajaw T, Soosai AP, Mukhtar F, Fadzil YJ, Anuar Zaini A, Mohd-Taib SH, Rosly RM, Khoo AJ, Cheang HK. Prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors in young children in Malaysia: A nationwide survey. Front Pediatr 2022; 10:913850. [PMID: 36061396 PMCID: PMC9433651 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.913850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Undernutrition in young children is a significant public health problem globally. We determined the prevalence of and factors predisposing to stunting and underweight in children aged 1 to 5 years in Malaysia. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were extracted from a cross-sectional nationwide campaign involving healthy children aged 1-5 years conducted over a 4-month period in 2019. We obtained information on demography, parental height and risk factors of undernutrition and anthropometric measurements (height and weight) of children enrolled. Age and sex-specific z-score for length/height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), body mass index (BMI) z-score (BAZ) and weight-for-height/length (WFH) z-score (WFHZ) were obtained using World Health Organization growth standards. The following definitions were used: (a) HAZ < -2 SD as stunted and -2 to -1 SD as at risk of stunting; (b) WFHZ < -3 SD as severe, -3 to < -2 SD as moderate wasting, and -2 to < +1 SD as normal; (c) WAZ -2 to -1 as at risk of underweight; (d) BAZ +1 to < +2 SD as at risk of and > +2 SD as overweight. RESULTS Of the 15,331 children surveyed, prevalence of stunting and at risk of stunting were 16.1 and 20.0%, severe and moderate wasting were 4.0 and 6.1%, while 21.1% was at risk of underweight. Prevalence of at risk of and overweight 14.2 and 7.3%, respectively. One in fifth (25.0%) children had at least one form of undernutrition (stunting and/or underweight/wasting). Of the 1,412 (13.2%) children reported to have risk factors of undernutrition, 47.2% had feeding difficulties, 44.8% had poor dietary intake and 8.0% had both. Boys, paternal height < 156 cm and poor dietary intake were significantly associated with stunting and/or wasting. Compared with children with no risk factors, children with feeding difficulties were more likely to be wasted (AOR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.18-1.85), and had at least one form of undernutrition (AOR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.25-1.69). CONCLUSIONS In Malaysian children aged 1 to 5 years, dual burden of under- and overnutrition are common. Poor dietary intake and feeding difficulties were risk factors for undernutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Way Seah Lee
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.,Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kajang, Malaysia
| | | | - Kim Mun Khoh
- Paediatric Unit, Gleneagles Medical Centre, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Juan Loong Kok
- Paediatric Unit, Sarawak General Hospital, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
| | | | | | - Firdaus Mukhtar
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | | | - Azriyanti Anuar Zaini
- Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Siti Hawa Mohd-Taib
- Department of Dietetics, University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rozanna M Rosly
- Dietetic Services Department, UM Specialist Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - An Jo Khoo
- Department of Dietetics and Food Service, Lam Wah Ee Hospital, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
| | - Hon Kit Cheang
- Paediatric Unit, Lam Wah Ee Hospital, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
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