Nutrition and Mental Development in Children

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2001

To examine the possibility that there is an early sensitive period for the effects of malnutrition on cognitive development, three groups of children (N = 197) were recruited from a birth cohort with known growth characteristics in south-west Ethiopia (N = 1563). All had initial weights;: 2500 g. Early growth falterers dropped in weight below the third centile (z < -1.88) of the NCHS/WHO reference population in the first 4 months. Late growth falterers were children not in the first group whose weights were below the third centile at 10 and 12 months. Controls were a stratified random sample with weights above the third centile throughout the first year. All children were tested blind at 2 years using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, adapted for use in Ethiopia. Mean (SD) scores on the psychomotor scale were 10.2 (3.7) in the controls, 6.6 (4.2) in the early growth falterers, and 8.5 (4.3) in the late growth falterers. For the mental scale they were 28.9 (5.8), 22.6 (6.2), and 26.6 (6.1) respectively. Both overall differences were statistically significant at p < .001, and planned comparisons between the control and the combined growth faltering groups, and between the early and later growth faltering groups, showed that each difference was statistically significant for both scales. However, early weight faltering was associated with weight at the time of testing (r = .33), which was associated with scores both on the psychomotor (r = .53) and the mental scale (r = .49). After taking weight at the time of testing into account there was no additional effect attributable to the timing of growth faltering. In this population, therefore, early malnutrition does not have specific adverse effect beyond the contribution that it makes to enduring malnutrition over the first 2 years. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2002;16(Special Issue):77-86]

Journal of Nepal Paediatric Society, 2016

Background: Developmental challenges and malnutrition are two major childhood health problems in the developing world and malnutrition is a major risk factor for poor development, which can, ultimately, lead to developmental challenges with lifelong implications, affecting the individual, the family and the society at-large.Materials and Methods: We searched PUBMED & COCHRANE REVIEW databases, published documents from WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank and citations thereof, for relevant literature on brain development and malnutrition, dietary supplementation and brain development. Results: Effect of nutrition on the developing brain has been thoroughly studied and established. Undernutrition, particularly during fetal and 1 st two years of postnatal life, is a major risk factor for poor neuro-development, leading to motor, cognitive and speech delay, as well as behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Macro and micro-nutrients, like proteins, Iron, Iodine, Zinc, vitamins-B, C and D, choline and essential fatty acids are essential for proper brain development. Supplementation of pregnant and lactating mothers, infants and toddlers with multiple micronutrient, specially Iron, Iodine, Vitamins B12 and Folate and choline has been found beneficial, particularly among the vulnerable population.Conclusion: Dietary supplementation for pregnant and lactating mothers, infants and toddlers along with a congenial socio-emotional environment and cognitive stimulation from an early age can go a long way to help the child at-risk attain his developmental potential.

Nutrition Research Reviews, 1990

BJSTR, 2022

Nutritional status is a determinant of health, therefore, all the factors that interfere with it will directly affect the well-being of any human being. In third world countries, the population tends to exceed the limits of food both downwards and upwards which probably has important implications at a general level within the human body. Among them, malnutrition, a public health problem, is considered a disease that interferes with and hinders the life and opportunities of those who are undernourished. Review articles and originals have concluded in a very radical way that nutrition during the early stages of life will tangentially affect both neurological development in the infant and in adult life, which is why the revision of this topic becomes important.

Social Science & Medicine (1967), 1970

Ahatract-The possibility of permanent mental retardation as a result of pr&in+alorie malnutrition has been raised recently by numerous laboratory and field studies. The latter, using the techniques of both anthropology and clinical medicine, have attempted to identify malnutrition as the single most important factor in observed substandard performance on tests of intelligence and intersensory organization among children who live in areas where the risk of malnutrition is high. In the laboratory, where the metabolism of the brain under the stress of maluutrition is under investigation, analogies between what has been observed in malnutrition and what is known of the inherited meiabolic disease phenylketonuria may be drawn.

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences

A balanced diet leads to a good state of health. In India, pediatric malnutrition accounts for 22 per cent of the country&#39;s disease burden. Nutrition has a profound effect on the development of brain structure and function, and malnutrition may contribute to disease and developmental impairment in later life. The developmental evaluation assesses individuals&#39; skills and potential. This study aimed to determine the relationship of protein-energy malnutrition with motor development and cognition among malnourished children. The research was designed as a cross-sectional observational study in the pediatric malnourished population at Acharya Vinobha Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi, India. The study included the children between 6 months to 5 years with Grade II, III and IV malnutrition, who was admitted in the pediatric ward and excluded those with Neurological problems, syndromes and chronic diseases affecting development. Developmental assessment of patients was done using DASI...

ABSTRACTBackgroundSevere childhood malnutrition impairs growth and development short-term, but current understanding of long-term outcomes is limited. We aimed to identify studies assessing neurodevelopmental, cognitive, behavioural and mental health outcomes following childhood malnutrition.MethodsWe systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health and PsychINFO for studies assessing these outcomes in those exposed to childhood malnutrition in low- and middle-income settings. We included studies assessing undernutrition measured by low mid-upper arm circumference, weight-for-height, weight-for-age or nutritional oedema. We used guidelines for synthesis of results without meta-analysis to analyse three outcome areas: neurodevelopment, cognition/academic achievement, behaviour/mental health.ResultsWe identified 30 studies, including some long-term cohorts reporting outcomes through to adulthood. There is strong evidence that malnutrition in childhood negatively impacts neurodev...

2013

Hunger is still a major problem faced by people in the world especially in some areas in developing countries, and this condition is a cause of undernutrition. Insufficient nutrition during the early stages of life may adversely influence brain development. It was observed from my own research conducted in Bogor, Indonesia, that children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM, body mass index or BMI for age z score &lt;-­-3) (N=54) had significantly (p&lt;0.05) lower memory ability score (46.22±1.38) compared to normal children (BMI for age z score-­-2 ≤ z ≤ 1) (N=91) (51.56±1.24). Further, children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM, BMI for age z score-­-3 ≤ z &lt;-­-2) tended to (p&lt;0.1) have lower memory ability (50.08±1.58) than the normal children. On the other hand, overnutrition among children also might impair the brain function. The study revealed that children who are overweight (BMI for age z score 1 &lt; z ≤ 2) (N=8) significantly (p&lt;0.05) had lower memory ability ...

THE JOURNAL OF VITAMINOLOGY, 1968

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 2008