Infant and Maternal Morbidity Symptoms as Predictors for the Interruption of Exclusive Breastfeeding in Lima, Peru: A Prospective Study.

Introduction: The global prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is 48%. This analysis examined the relationship between infant and maternal morbidity symptoms and the interruption of exclusive breastfeeding.

Methods: Data from a cohort study among women living in a peri-urban community in Peru were used.

The Multiple Dimensions of Participation: Key Determinants of Nutrition Intervention Outcomes.

Nutrition research benefits from broad and intensive participation by stakeholders. The articles in this series demonstrate that understanding participation is complex because it incorporates the dimensions of stakeholders, activity, time, and intensity. Early involvement in research can help prioritize the problems to be addressed, refine the specific research question, and determine acceptable community-based approaches to be used in an intervention.

Women's empowerment, children's nutritional status, and the mediating role of household headship structure: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa.

We aimed to examine the association between women's empowerment and childhood nutritional status while accounting for the mediating role of household headship structure. Cross-country, cross-sectional quantitative data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (2015-2018) were used. Women's empowerment was measured as a composite index of participation in household decision-making, attitude towards domestic violence, and asset ownership.

Infant and young child feeding practices are associated with childhood anaemia and stunting in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: The co-occurrence of anaemia and stunting (CAS) presents acute development and morbidity challenges to children particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Evidence on the effect of child feeding recommendations on CAS is scarce.

Methods: We used data from 22 recent Demographic and Health Surveys in SSA countries to examine the association between caregivers' implementation of recommendations on infant and young child feeding and the CAS in their 6- to 23-mo-old children.

Participating in a Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Intervention Is Not Associated with Less Maternal Time for Care in a Rural Ghanaian District.

Background: Nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions may increase farm-related work for mothers, with consequences for child nutrition. The Nutrition Links (NL) intervention provided mothers with poultry, gardening inputs, technical support, and education to improve livelihoods and child nutrition outcomes in rural Ghana.

Objectives: Our objective was to compare time allocated to child care by a cross-section of mothers in the intervention group of the NL intervention with the control group (NCT01985243).

Growing and Learning Together in Fostering Multisectoral Participation for Sustaining Interventions: Lessons from 3 Successive Integrated Multidisciplinary Interventions in Rural Ghana.

Despite the recognition of nutrition as a multisectoral development issue, institutional silos persist as barriers to addressing community nutrition challenges effectively and sustainably. Over the past 2 decades, 3 integrated agriculture, livelihood, nutrition, and health interventions have been implemented in rural communities across Ghana, aimed at nurturing multisectoral collaborations to enhance institutional capacity, women's empowerment, children's diets and nutritional status, and general household well-being. Using information from published articles on the interventions, workshop reports, informal institutional engagements, and field notes, insights are presented on the efforts to garner multisectoral participation to sustain these interventions.

The Association of Women's Participation in Farmer-Based Organizations with Female and Male Empowerment and its Implication for Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Interventions in Rural Ghana.

Background: Few studies have examined the influence of women's participation in farmer groups on female and male empowerment, which is considered essential to improving nutrition.

Objectives: The study aimed to ) assess the empowerment of Ghanaian women farmers, 1 adult male family decision-maker per household, and the household gender equality; and ) investigate the relation of empowerment and household gender equality with women's participation in farmer-based organizations (FBOs), women's and men's nutritional status, and household food security.

Methods: A cross-sectional study investigated secondary outcomes using baseline data from a nutrition-sensitive agriculture intervention implemented through FBOs in rural Ghana.

Maternal Participation Level in a Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Intervention Matters for Child Diet and Growth Outcomes in Rural Ghana.

Background: Little is known about how the level of program participation affects child nutrition in rural interventions.

Objectives: This study examined the association between participation level in a nutrition-sensitive agriculture intervention and children's diet and anthropometric outcomes in rural Ghana.

Methods: Nutrition Links was a cluster randomized controlled trial (clinicaltrials.

TSH Mediated the Effect of Iodized Salt on Child Cognition in a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objectives: This study examines the hormonal mediators of the effect of iodized salt in pregnancy on child cognition.

Methods: Sixty districts across 6 zones in the Amhara region of Ethiopia were randomly allocated to a control or intervention arm of early market access to iodized salt. Twenty-two villages per arm were randomly selected for this sub-study.

Maternal postpartum deworming and infant milk intake: Secondary outcomes from a trial.

The World Health Organization recommends deworming to reduce soil-transmitted helminth (STH)-attributable morbidity in women of reproductive age, including pregnant and lactating women, to reduce blood loss, iron deficiency anaemia and nutrient malabsorption. This study assessed the impact of maternal postpartum deworming with albendazole approximately 1 day after delivery on infant milk intake among a subset of 216 randomly selected mother-infant pairs recruited into a large trial in Peru. Infant milk intake was measured using the deuterium-oxide method at 1- and 6-month postpartum.

Pre-pregnancy iodized salt improved children's cognitive development in randomized trial in Ethiopia.

The overarching Ethiopia project examined the effects of early market introduction of iodized salt on the growth and mental development of young children. Sixty districts were randomly assigned to intervention (early market access to iodized salt) or control (later access through market forces), and one community per district was randomly chosen as the sampling unit. For this project, 22 of the districts were included.

Household food insecurity but not dietary diversity is associated with children's mean micronutrient density adequacy in rural communities across Ghana.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine predictors of household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and children's mean micronutrient density adequacy and the relationship among these dietary measures.

Method: Baseline analysis of a quasi-experimental 16-mo intervention study conducted in 12 rural communities in the three main agroecological zones in Ghana. The study included 608 caregivers with their 2- to 5-y-old children.

An agriculture-nutrition intervention improved children's diet and growth in a randomized trial in Ghana.

Stunting in Ghana is associated with rural communities, poverty, and low education; integrated agricultural interventions can address the problem. This cluster randomized controlled trial tested the effect of a 12-month intervention (inputs and training for poultry farming and home gardening, and nutrition and health education) on child diet and nutritional status. Sixteen clusters were identified and randomly assigned to intervention or control; communities within clusters were randomly chosen, and all interested, eligible mother-child pairs were enrolled (intervention: 8 clusters, 19 communities, and 287 households; control: 8 clusters, 20 communities, and 213 households).

Selenium inadequacy hampers thyroid response of young children after iodine repletion.

Selenium (Se) is an integral component of iodothyronine deiodinase, glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase enzymes and thus is important for normal thyroid function. This study investigated the influence of Se inadequacy on thyroid response of iodine-replete young children. Serum thyroxine (T), triiodothyronine (T), thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and Se were analyzed in 54-60 mo old children (n = 628) from the Amhara region of Ethiopia before salt iodization was commenced; analyses were repeated (n = 555) 15 mo after iodized salt became available.

Spatial Variation of Human Selenium in Ethiopia.

Selenium is an important nutrient for humans and livestock. Soil selenium concentration in the world is highly variable; deficiency and toxicity occur in populations living short distance apart. Knowledge of Se concentrations in humans and the environments, especially because the range for toxicity and deficiency is narrow, is important for effective intervention.

Association of Whole Blood Fatty Acids and Growth in Southern Ghanaian Children 2⁻6 Years of Age.

In Ghana, stunting rates in children below 5 years of age vary regionally. Dietary fatty acids (FAs) are crucial for linear growth. The objective of this study was to determine the association between blood FAs and growth parameters in southern Ghanaian children 2⁻6 years of age.

Introduction of iodised salt benefits infants' mental development in a community-based cluster-randomised effectiveness trial in Ethiopia.

The effectiveness of salt iodisation in improving the mental development of young children has not been assessed. We implemented a community-based cluster-randomised effectiveness trial in sixty randomly selected districts in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. We randomly allocated each district to treatment and randomly selected one of its villages.

Lipid profile and dyslipidemia among school-age children in urban Ghana.

Background: Dyslipidemia during childhood has been associated with higher risk of atherosclerosis later in life. Information on the lipid profile of Ghanaian children is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the lipid profiles of school children between the ages of 9-15 years, living in urban Ghana.

Reliability of length measurements collected by community nurses and health volunteers in rural growth monitoring and promotion services.

Background: Length measurements are important in growth, monitoring and promotion (GMP) for the surveillance of a child's weight-for-length and length-for-age. These two indices provide an indication of a child's risk of becoming wasted or stunted, and are more informative about a child's growth than the widely used weight-for-age index (underweight). Although the introduction of length measurements in GMP is recommended by the World Health Organization, concerns about the reliability of length measurements collected in rural outreach settings have been expressed by stakeholders.

Child development in rural Ghana: Associations between cognitive/language milestones and indicators of nutrition and stimulation of children under two years of age.

Objectives: Two studies aimed to assess the provision of nutrition and psychosocial stimulation in the home and to examine associations between mental development and nutrition and stimulation using a validated measure of development milestones.

Methods: The first study consisted of secondary analyses on health and nutrition data from 1081 mother-child pairs (the children aged 0-12 months) and their households in Ghana's Eastern Region. For the second study, the Ghana Milestones Measure, consisting of items assessing cognitive and language development, was used to assess child development in a subsample (N = 330) of Study 1 participants one year later (children 10-24 months of age).

Prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among school-aged children in urban Ghana.

Background: Childhood overnutrition is a serious public health problem, with consequences that extend into adulthood. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity among school-age children in two urban settings in Ghana.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 3089 children (9-15 years) recruited between December 2009 and February 2012 in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana.

A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial of Maternal Postpartum Deworming to Improve Infant Weight Gain in the Peruvian Amazon.

Background: Nutritional interventions targeting the critical growth and development period before two years of age can have the greatest impact on health trajectories over the life course. Compelling evidence has demonstrated that interventions investing in maternal health in the first 1000 days of life are beneficial for both mothers and their children. One such potential intervention is deworming integrated into maternal postpartum care in areas where soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are endemic.

A Community-Based Positive Deviance/Hearth Infant and Young Child Nutrition Intervention in Ecuador Improved Diet and Reduced Underweight.

Objective: Underweight and stunting are serious problems in Ecuador that require interventions in the first 2 years of life. The researchers assessed the effectiveness of a Positive Deviance (PD)/Hearth community-based intervention using local foods to improve infant and young children's nutrition.

Design: A quasi-experimental nonrandomized study was conducted between March and October, 2009.

Infant and young child feeding practices and stunting in two highland provinces in Ecuador.

The first two years of life are critical for growth and development. Little is known about infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the Ecuadorian highlands and how they contribute to stunting. With the objective of understanding nutritional status and the influencing factors to design an intervention, we assessed the nutritional status of 293 infants and children between 0 and 24 months of age, living in 14 communities in the provinces of Tungurahua and Chimborazo using a cross-sectional study design.

Factors are not the same for risk of stopping exclusive breast-feeding and introducing different types of liquids and solids in HIV-affected communities in Ghana.

Exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) for 6 months supports optimal infant growth, health and development. This paper examined whether maternal HIV status was associated with EBF and other infant feeding practices. Pregnant women were enrolled after HIV counselling, and their babies were followed up for up to 1 year.