Developmental effects of micronutrient supplementation and malaria in Zanzibari children.

Background: Children's development is affected by the interplay of internal and external factors and changes in one factor can precipitate changes in multiple developmental domains.

Aims: The aim of this study was to test a theoretical model of children's development using structural equation modeling.

Study Design: This was designed as a substudy of a randomized, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial trial of the effects of daily supplementation with iron (12.

Incidence and risk factors for newborn umbilical cord infections on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Background: Few community-based data exist on the frequency of cord infection signs in low resource settings, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. We developed simple sign-based definitions of omphalitis and estimated incidence and risk factors for infection over a range of severity among neonates in Pemba, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Methods: Infants' umbilical stump was assessed on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 after birth for presence of pus, redness, swelling, and foul odor.

Bacterial populations in complementary foods and drinking-water in households with children aged 10-15 months in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Bacteria were quantified in samples of drinking-water and in two porridges prepared for infant-feeding [fortified instant soy-rice porridge (SRP) and cooked porridge (Lishe bora, LB)] in 54 households. Bacterial numbers were measured again after the porridges had been held at room temperature for four hours (T4). Findings were benchmarked against bacterial numbers in traditional complementary foods sampled from 120 households.

Development of nutritionally at-risk young children is predicted by malaria, anemia, and stunting in Pemba, Zanzibar.

Nutritionally at-risk children suffer delays in physical growth and motor and language development. Infectious diseases such as malaria pose an additional risk. We examined the cross-sectional relationships among malaria infection, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, length-for-age Z-scores (LAZ), motor activity, behavior, and motor and language development in 841 Zanzibari children 5-19 mo old.

Young Zanzibari children with iron deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, stunting, or malaria have lower motor activity scores and spend less time in locomotion.

Motor activity improves cognitive and social-emotional development through a child's exploration of his or her physical and social environment. This study assessed anemia, iron deficiency, hemoglobin (Hb), length-for-age Z-score (LAZ), and malaria infection as predictors of motor activity in 771 children aged 5-19 mo. Trained observers conducted 2- to 4-h observations of children's motor activity in and around their homes.

Combined iron and folic acid supplementation with or without zinc reduces time to walking unassisted among Zanzibari infants 5- to 11-mo old.

Iron and zinc deficiencies have been associated with delayed motor development in nutritionally at-risk children, albeit inconsistently. In this community-based, randomized double-blind trial, iron+folic acid (FeFA) (12.5 mg Fe + 50 mug folic acid), zinc (Zn) (10 mg), and iron+folic acid+zinc (FeFA+Zn) supplements or a placebo were given daily for 1 y to nutritionally at-risk children in Pemba, Zanzibar.