Comparing Antibody Responses to Homologous vs. Heterologous COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Analysis in an Urban Bangladeshi Population.

Background: Vaccination has played a crucial role in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and reducing its severe outcomes. While over 90% of Bangladesh's population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, the comparative effectiveness of homologous versus heterologous booster strategies, along with the complex interplay of factors within the population, remains understudied. This study aimed to compare antibody responses between these booster approaches.

Supervised and Unsupervised Screen Time and Its Association With Physical, Mental, and Social Health of School-Going Children in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Children's screen time has substantially increased worldwide, including in Bangladesh, especially since the pandemic, which is raising concern about its potential adverse effects on their physical, mental, and social health. Parental supervision may play a crucial role in mitigating these negative impacts. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence assessing the relationship between parental screen time supervision and health outcomes among school children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Trajectories and social determinants of child cognitive development: a prospective cohort study from infancy through middle childhood in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Background: Over a third of children globally do not meet their developmental potential, and children living in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are most vulnerable. Understanding the contextual factors that influence cognitive development for children in LMICs is crucial to inform and develop interventions. We sought to characterize developmental trajectories of cognition in Bangladeshi children and identify salient social determinants.

Parenting with nutrition education and unconditional cash reduce maternal depressive symptoms and improve quality of life: findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial in urban Bangladesh.

Background: Maternal post-natal depression is a global public health problem. Parenting interventions targeting children's development may also bring benefits to mothers, but few parenting interventions have been studied thoroughly.

Objectives: The study aimed to measure the effect of a parenting intervention using culturally appropriate and locally made toys, along with nutrition education and unconditional cash, on maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) and quality of life (QoL).

Effectiveness of a package of community-based mental healthcare services to address perinatal mental disorders in Bangladesh: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: Perinatal mental disorders of women have an impact on their pregnancy and their child's brain development across low and middle-income countries. However, to address this issue, there are no specific guidelines for community-level service providers in Bangladesh. Therefore, we aimed to develop a community-based mental healthcare (CBMHC) service package and test its effectiveness in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress among mothers during the perinatal period.

The Impact of Non-Dysentery Shigella Infection on the Growth and Health of Children over Time (INSIGHT)-A Prospective Case-Control Study Protocol.

(1) spp. (Shigella) is known for causing dysentery with blood in stool, but most children infected with Shigella have non-dysentery Shigella-associated diarrhea (NDSD). The World Health Organization recommends the use of antibiotics when diarrhea is bloody, leaving most NDSD cases untreated.

Perinatal inflammation, fetal growth restriction, and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment in Bangladesh.

Background: There are limited data on the impact of perinatal inflammation on child neurodevelopment in low-middle income countries and among growth-restricted infants.

Methods: Population-based, prospective birth cohort study of 288 infants from July 2016-March 2017 in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Umbilical cord blood was analyzed for interleukin(IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and C-reactive protein(CRP).

Effect of a parenting and nutrition education programme on development and growth of children using a social safety-net platform in urban Bangladesh: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Although sustainable development goals mandate for quality early childhood development (ECD) interventions for children <8 years, little occurs for children <3 years, especially in urban settings in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Our primary objective was to measure the effect of an ECD-focused parenting and nutrition education on children's development through home visits using a social safety net platform of urban Bangladesh.

Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with mothers of children aged 6-16 months in 20 clusters across the Rangpur city, Bangladesh.

Stress biomarkers and child development in young children in Bangladesh.

Background: Hundreds of millions of children in low- and middle-income countries are exposed to chronic stressors, such as poverty, poor sanitation and hygiene, and sub-optimal nutrition. These stressors can have physiological consequences for children and may ultimately have detrimental effects on child development. This study explores associations between biological measures of chronic stress in early life and developmental outcomes in a large cohort of young children living in rural Bangladesh.

Parental communicative input as a protective factor in Bangladeshi families living in poverty: A multi-dimensional perspective.

Studies from high-income populations have shown that stimulating, supportive communicative input from parents promote children's cognitive and language development. However, fewer studies have identified specific features of input supporting the healthy development of children growing up in low- or middle-income countries. The current study proposes and tests a multi-dimensional framework for understanding whether and how caregiver communicative input mediates the associations between socio-economic conditions and early development.

Multidimensional evaluation of the early emergence of executive function and development in Bangladeshi children using nutritional and psychosocial intervention: A randomized controlled trial protocol.

Introduction: Reversing malnutrition-induced impairment of cognition and emotional regulation is a critical global gap. We hypothesize that brain-targeted micronutrient supplemented nutritional rehabilitation in children with moderate acute malnutrition, followed by 2 years micronutrient supplementation will impact on the cognition and emotion regulation of these children.

Methods: The primary outcome of this prospective, randomized controlled trial is to study the development of executive functions (EFs) and emotion regulation (ER) in this cohort.

Factors associated with children's cognitive, language, and motor development in deprived urban settings in Bangladesh.

Background: Children's development is multifactorial. Although there have been several studies exploring the association of children's development with maternal, child, and environmental factors, we are unaware of any study that assessed those factors in children whose mothers were enrolled in a social safety net programme in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with disadvantaged children's cognitive, language, and motor development at age 6-16 months in deprived settings of urban Bangladesh and to identify relative importance of these factors of children's development.

Establishing performance standards for child development: learnings from the ECDI2030.

Background: Standards of early childhood development (ECD) are needed to determine whether children living in different contexts are developmentally on track. The Early Childhood Development Index 2030 (ECDI2030) is a population-level measure intended to be used in household surveys to collect globally comparable data on one of the indicators chosen to monitor progress toward target 4.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals: The proportion of children aged 24-59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being.

Stress Biomarkers and Child Development in Young Children in Bangladesh.

Background: Hundreds of millions of children in low- and middle-income countries are exposed to chronic stressors, such as poverty, poor sanitation and hygiene, and sub-optimal nutrition. These stressors can have physiological consequences for children and may ultimately have detrimental effects on child development. This study explores associations between biological measures of chronic stress in early life and developmental outcomes in a large cohort of young children living in rural Bangladesh.

Factors Associated with Reported COVID-like Symptoms and Seroprevalence Data Matched with COVID-like Symptoms in Slums and Non-Slums of Two Major Cities in Bangladesh.

Objectives: To examine the levels and socio-demographic differentials of: (a) reported COVID-like symptoms; and (b) seroprevalence data matched with COVID-like symptoms.

Methods: Survey data of reported COVID-like symptoms and seroprevalence were assessed by Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay. Survey data of 10,050 individuals for COVID-like symptoms and seroprevalence data of 3205 individuals matched with COVID-like symptoms were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic analysis.

Implementing a group-based multi-component early child development intervention through the government health system in rural Bangladesh: A feasibility study.

Children in low- and middle-income countries face an increased risk of impaired cognitive development due to contaminated environments, poor nutrition, and inadequate responsive stimulation from caregivers. Implementing multi-component, community-level interventions may reduce these risks; however, there is little evidence supporting implementation of these interventions at scale. We assessed the feasibility of implementing a group-based intervention that included responsive stimulation, maternal and child nutrition, water and sanitation, and childhood lead exposure prevention through the government health system in Chatmohar, Bangladesh.

An Integrated Mother-Child Intervention on Child Development and Maternal Mental Health.

Objectives: To evaluate an integrated, low-cost, facility-based group intervention designed to promote child care, boost maternal mental-wellbeing, reduce harsh discipline, and improve children's health, nutrition, and early development.

Methods: In Dhaka, 30 neighborhood clusters of a low-income urban community were randomized to intervention or control groups. Mothers with children between 6 and 24 months (n = 300) who self-reported negative discipline were identified and enrolled.

Six-Year Follow-up of Childhood Stimulation on Development of Children With and Without Anemia.

Background And Objectives: Previously, in 30 Bangladeshi villages, 2 groups of children with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) and nonanemic (NA) iron sufficiency aged 6 to 24 months participated in 2 parallel cluster randomized controlled trials of the effect of psychosocial stimulation on neurodevelopment. The intervention was composed of weekly play sessions at home for 9 months. All children with anemia received iron treatment of 6 months.

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.

Concurrent validity of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Inventory and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development in rural Bangladesh.

Background: Reliable and valid measurement of early child development are necessary for the design of effective interventions, programs, and policies to improve early child outcomes. One widely used measure in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (Bayley-III). Alternatively, the Bangladeshi-adapted Ages and Stages Questionnaire Inventory (ASQ:I) can be administered more quickly, inexpensively, and with less training than the Bayley-III.

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.

Protocol for validation of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) for children under 3 years of age in seven countries.

Introduction: Children's early development is affected by caregiving experiences, with lifelong health and well-being implications. Governments and civil societies need population-based measures to monitor children's early development and ensure that children receive the care needed to thrive. To this end, the WHO developed the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) to measure children's early development up to 3 years of age.