Cognitive interventions in children and adolescents from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: a systematic review protocol of randomized controlled trials

Effect of egg consumption on early childhood development: Evidence from Un Oeuf study

OBJECTIVE

Recent studies have shown that inclusion of eggs in young children's diet can help meet nutritional requirements associated with cognitive development. This study aims to investigate the effect of egg consumption on Early Childhood Development (ECD) using Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3(ASQ-3) in Burkina Faso.

DESIGN

The study presented here uses data collected during a follow-up of the Un Oeuf-a 3 arm clustered randomized controlled trial (RCT), conducted roughly four months after the end of the RCT.

SETTING

This research was conducted in 18 rural villages within the Kaya Department of the Sanmatenga Province in Burkina Faso.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants of this study include a total of 244 children aged between 18-33 months, with 78 children in the full intervention group, 83 in the partial group, and 83 in the control group.

RESULTS

Results show that children with consistent egg consumption (in all months) had a lower odd of falling below the cut-off scores in gross motor (OR = 0.13, p = 0.02) and personal social skills (OR = 0.34, p = 0.05). And a dose response was established; for each additional egg/week, a 1.9% increase in scores for problem-solving skills was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study contribute to a growing body of evidence that increasing egg consumption among children in LMICs can improve growth and development. The study highlights the need for additional research in LMICs to better understand the multifactorial relationship between diet and childhood development.

Cognitive stimulation in socioeconomically disadvantaged children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a case series

Introduction

Research shows how conditions in socio-economically disadvantaged environments can be a risk factor for children's cognitive development. Consequently, children with neurodevelopmental disorders growing up in such environments face a double challenge. This study analyzed the effect of a comprehensive cognitive stimulation program on 4 single case studies comprising children with neurodevelopmental disorders from Guatemala.

Methodology

A descriptive study was conducted, using a case series approach, consisting of four participants with neurodevelopmental disorders, and a neurotypical group of 126 children. Participants in the neurotypical group were randomly assigned to either a control or experimental reference group. Cognitive assessments were performed pre- and post-intervention for all participants. Children in the experimental group received a comprehensive cognitive stimulation program between assessments. Two participants with neurodevelopmental disorders also received the stimulation program while the other two children with neurodevelopmental disorders performed the same task as the control group, specifically, regular reading activities.

Results

The experimental group exhibited a significant improvement in executive functions (inhibition, flexibility, and planning). The two experimental group children with neurodevelopmental disorders exhibited improved social cognition, showing a larger improvement compared to neurotypical children in their group, as well as compared to the two control children. However, although the reading program improved the language skills of the neurotypical control group, the children with neurodevelopmental disorders did not show as much improvement.

Conclusion

These results suggest that specialized interventions are beneficial for children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, but importantly, may have a larger impact on children with neurodevelopmental disorders.