Cliffer IR, Naumova EN, Masters WA, Perumal N, Garanet F, Rogers BL. Peak timing of slowest growth velocity among young children coincides with highest ambient temperatures in Burkina Faso: a longitudinal study.
Am J Clin Nutr 2024;
119:393-405. [PMID:
38309828 DOI:
10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.09.021]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Seasonal cycles in climatic factors affect drivers of child growth and contribute to seasonal fluctuations in undernutrition. Current growth seasonality models are limited by categorical definitions of seasons that rely on assumptions about their timing and fail to consider their magnitude.
OBJECTIVE
We disentangle the relationship between climatic factors and growth indicators, using harmonic regression to determine how child growth is related to peaks in temperature, precipitation, and vegetation.
METHODS
Longitudinal anthropometric data collected between August 2014 and December 2016 from 5039 Burkinabè children measured monthly from age 6 to 28 mo (108,580 observations) were linked with remotely sensed daily precipitation, vegetation, and maximum air temperature. Our models parsimoniously extract a cyclic signal with multiple potential peaks, to compare the magnitude and timing of seasonal peaks in climatic factors and morbidity with that of nadirs in growth velocity (cm/mo, kg/mo).
RESULTS
Length and weight velocity were slowest twice a year, coinciding both times with the highest temperatures, and peak fever incidence. Length velocity is slowest 13 d after the first temperature peak in April, and 5 d after the second. Similarly, weight velocity is slowest 13 d before the first temperature peak, and 11 d before the second. The statistical relationship between temperature and anthropometry shows that when the current temperature is higher, weight velocity is lower (β = -0.0048; 95% CI: -0.0059, -0.0038), and length velocity is higher (β = 0.0088; 95% CI: 0.0070, 0.0105).
CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that child health and development are more affected by high temperatures than by other aspects of climatic seasonality such as rainfall. Emerging shifts in climatic conditions will pose challenges to optimal growth, highlighting the importance of changes that optimize the timing of nutrition interventions and address environmental growth-limiting conditions.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY
Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02071563.
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