Effects of iron supplements and iron-containing micronutrient powders on the gut microbiome in Bangladeshi infants: a randomized controlled trial.

Anemia is highly prevalent globally, especially in young children in low-income countries, where it often overlaps with a high burden of diarrheal disease. Distribution of iron interventions (as supplements or iron-containing multiple micronutrient powders, MNPs) is a key anemia reduction strategy. Small studies in Africa indicate iron may reprofile the gut microbiome towards pathogenic species.

Community use of oral antibiotics transiently reprofiles the intestinal microbiome in young Bangladeshi children.

Antibiotics may alter the gut microbiome, and this is one of the mechanisms by which antimicrobial resistance may be promoted. Suboptimal antimicrobial stewardship in Asia has been linked to antimicrobial resistance. We aim to examine the relationship between oral antibiotic use and composition and antimicrobial resistance in the gut microbiome in 1093 Bangladeshi infants.

Supplementation With Iron Syrup or Iron-Containing Multiple Micronutrient Powders Alters Resting Brain Activity in Bangladeshi Children.

Background: Anemia and iron deficiency have been associated with poor child cognitive development. A key rationale for the prevention of anemia using supplementation with iron has been the benefits to neurodevelopment. However, little causal evidence exists for these gains.

Effects of iron supplementation on neural indices of habituation in Bangladeshi children.

Background: Iron deficiency and anemia have been associated with poor cognition in children, yet the effects of iron supplementation on neurocognition remain unclear.

Objective: We aimed to examine the effects of supplementation with iron on neural indices of habituation using auditory event-related brain potentials (ERPs).

Methods: This substudy was nested within a 3-arm, double-blind, double-dummy, individual randomized trial in Bangladesh, in which 3300 8-mo-old children were randomly selected to receive 3 mo of daily iron syrup (12.

Integrating a Group-Based, Early Childhood Parenting Intervention Into Primary Health Care Services in Rural Bangladesh: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Over 250 million children globally do not reach their developmental potential. We tested whether integrating a group-based, early childhood parenting program into government healthcare clinics improved children's development, growth, and behavior.

Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 40 community clinics in the Kishorganj district of Bangladesh.

Hair, serum and urine chromium levels in children with cognitive defects: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case control studies.

Environmental chromium exposure may cause impaired development of children. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and CINAHL were searched to identify case-control studies that reported childhood Cr exposure and cognitive development.

Preanalytic and analytic factors affecting the measurement of haemoglobin concentration: impact on global estimates of anaemia prevalence.

The accuracy of haemoglobin concentration measurements is crucial for deriving global anaemia prevalence estimates and monitoring anaemia reduction strategies. In this analysis, we examined and quantified the factors affecting preanalytic and analytic variation in haemoglobin concentrations. Using cross-sectional data from three field studies (in children, pregnant and nonpregnant women), we examined the difference in haemoglobin concentration between venous-drawn and capillary-drawn blood measured by HemoCue (ie, preanalytic) and modelled how the bias observed may affect anaemia prevalence estimates in population surveys and anaemia public health severity classification across countries.

Adapting an Evidence-Based, Early Childhood Parenting Programme for Integration into Government Primary Health Care Services in Rural Bangladesh.

This paper describes the process of adapting an early childhood development programme, with proven effectiveness in Bangladesh, for integration into government health services in rural Bangladesh. Through a three-stage process, we adapted an evidence-based, home-visiting, programme (Reach-Up and Learn) for delivery in government health clinics by government health staff as part of their regular duties. Stage one involved preparing an initial draft of two parenting interventions for use with: (1) pairs of mother/child dyads, and (2) small groups of mother/child dyads.

Immediate impact of stay-at-home orders to control COVID-19 transmission on socioeconomic conditions, food insecurity, mental health, and intimate partner violence in Bangladeshi women and their families: an interrupted time series.

Background: Stay-at-home orders (lockdowns) have been deployed globally to control COVID-19 transmission, and might impair economic conditions and mental health, and exacerbate risk of food insecurity and intimate partner violence. The effect of lockdowns in low-income and middle-income countries must be understood to ensure safe deployment of these interventions in less affluent settings. We aimed to determine the immediate impact of COVID-19 lockdown orders on women and their families in rural Bangladesh.

The Benefits and Risks of Iron interventionS in Children (BRISC) trial: Statistical analysis plan.

: The Benefits and Risks of Iron interventionS in Children (BRISC) trial will evaluate the impact of universal supplementation with iron supplements or iron-containing multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs) compared with placebo given for 3 months on child development, growth, morbidity, laboratory indices of anaemia, iron deficiency, and inflammation at end of intervention and after a further 9 months post intervention in children aged 8 months living in rural Bangladesh. This paper describes the statistical analysis plan. : BRISC is a multi-site, three-arm, double-dummy blinded, parallel group, randomised control superiority trial in 3300 children.

Benefits and risks of Iron interventions in children (BRISC): protocol for a three-arm parallel-group randomised controlled field trial in Bangladesh.

Introduction: Anaemia is a major global health problem affecting about 43% of preschool children globally and 60% of 6-24-month-old children in rural Bangladesh, half of which is attributed to iron deficiency (ID). Although WHO recommends universal supplementation with iron or home fortification with iron-containing multiple micronutrient powders (MMPs) to children under 2 years, evidence for benefits of these interventions on childhood development (a key rationale for these interventions) and harms (especially infection) remains limited. This study aims to evaluate the impact of iron or MMPs supplementation compared with placebo on (a) children's development, (b) growth, (c) morbidity from infections and (d) haematological and iron indices.