Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Gelaye B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5155709 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries.
Gelaye Bizu B Rondon Marta B MB Araya Ricardo R Williams Michelle A MA
The lancet. Psychiatry 20160917 10
Maternal depression, a non-psychotic depressive episode of mild to major severity, is one of the major contributors of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. Maternal depression (antepartum or post partum) has been linked to negative health-related behaviours and adverse outcomes, including psychological and developmental disturbances in infants, children, and adolescents. Despite its enormous burden, maternal depression in low-income and middle-income countries remains under-recognised and ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundThere have been very few systematic reviews looking at maternal infections in the developing world, even though cutting maternal mortality by three quarters is United Nation's Millennium Development Goal number five. This systematic review has two aims. The first is to present the prevalence of parasitic infections in the developing world over the last 30 years and the second is to evaluate the quality and distribution of research in this field.MethodsA systematic review of Medline, EMBASE and Global Health databases was undertaken using pre-determined search criteria. Three levels of quality criteria for exclusion of inadequate studies identified 115 out of initial 8580 titles. The data were extracted for 5 domains: worldwide pathogen prevalence, year of study, study setting, sample size and diagnostic test for each pathogen.ResultsThe initial search retrieved 8580 results. From these titles, 43 studies on malaria, 12 studies on helminths, 49 studies on Toxoplasma gondii, 7 studies on Chagas disease, 5 studies on Trichomonas, 1 leishmaniasis study and 1 study on trichinellosis were extracted for analysis. High prevalence of malaria was found in Gabon (up to 57%) India (55%), Cameroon (50%), Yemen (55%), Nigeria (up to 64%) and Ghana (54%). High prevalence of hookworm infections was found in Nepal at 78.8% and high values of Ascaris lumbricoides were found in Nepal, (56.2%), Kenya (52.3%) and Gabon (45.5%). High levels of Schistosoma mansoni were found in Zimbabwe (50%) and Tanzania (63.5%). The prevalence of active Toxoplasma gondii infection was found to be highest in India (27.7%).ConclusionThis study highlights the large burden of maternal parasitic infections globally. It may serve as a useful starting point for health policy development and research prioritization in this area.
| S-EPMC3484768 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Optimal nutrition plays a crucial role in pregnancy. Maternal malnutrition is a risk factor for maternal, fetal, and neonatal complications and is more prevalent in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). This review aims to study the effectiveness of antenatal macronutrient nutritional interventions on maternal, neonatal, and child outcomes. We searched the CENTRAL, PubMed, Embase, and other databases for randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs on healthy pregnant women in LMICs. We also searched grey literature and reports from Google Scholar, Web of Science, and websites of different organizations. Title/abstract screening, full-text screening, and data extraction filtered 15 studies for inclusion. Balanced energy protein (BEP) supplementation (n = 8) studies showed a reduced incidence of perinatal mortality, stillbirths, low birth weight (LBW) infants, small for gestational age (SGA) babies and increased birth weight. Food distribution programs (FDPs) (n =5) witnessed reduced rates of SGA, stunting, wasting, and increased birth weight and birth length. Studies on intervention for obesity prevention (n = 2) showed reductions in birth weight. Other findings were statistically insignificant. Subgroup analyses were conducted to study the effectiveness of supplementation between regions, location, the timing of supplementation and nutritional status; however, there were a limited number of studies in each subgroup. Data from our review supports the antenatal supplementation of BEP and FDP for the prevention of adverse maternal, neonatal, and child outcomes that can be utilized for future policymaking. However, more research is required before recommending obesity prevention programs.
| S-EPMC7071393 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionFrom 1990-2010, worldwide child mortality declined by 43%, and maternal mortality declined by 40%. This paper compares two sources of progress: improvements in societal coverage of health determinants versus improvements in the impact of health determinants as a result of technical change.MethodsThis paper decomposes the progress made by 146 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in lowering childhood and maternal mortality into one component due to better health determinants like literacy, income, and health coverage and a second component due to changes in the impact of these health determinants. Health determinants were selected from eight distinct health-impacting sectors. Health determinants were selected from eight distinct health-impacting sectors. Regression models are used to estimate impact size in 1990 and again in 2010. Changes in the levels of health determinants were measured using secondary data.FindingsThe model shows that respectively 100% and 89% of the reductions in maternal and child mortality since 1990 were due to improvements in nationwide coverage of health determinants. The relative share of overall improvement attributable to any single determinant varies by country and by model specification. However, in aggregate, approximately 50% of the mortality reductions were due to improvements in the health sector, and the other 50% of the mortality reductions were due to gains outside the health sector.ConclusionsOverall, countries improved maternal and child health (MCH) from 1990 to 2010 mainly through improvements in the societal coverage of a broad array of health system, social, economic and environmental determinants of child health. These findings vindicate efforts by the global community to obtain such improvements, and align with the post-2015 development agenda that builds on the lessons from the MDGs and highlights the importance of promoting health and sustainable development in a more integrated manner across sectors.
| S-EPMC4718632 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMaternal morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries has remained exceedingly high. However, information on bacterial and viral maternal infections, which are important contributors to poor pregnancy outcomes, is sparse and poorly characterised. This review aims to describe the epidemiology and aetiology of bacterial and viral maternal infections in low- and middle-income countries.MethodsA systematic search of published literature was conducted and data on aetiology and epidemiology of maternal infections was extracted from relevant studies for analysis. Searches were conducted in parallel by two reviewers (using OVID) in the following databases: Medline (1950 to 2010), EMBASE (1980 to 2010) and Global Health (1973 to 2010).ResultsData from 158 relevant studies was used to characterise the epidemiology of the 10 most extensively reported maternal infections with the following median prevalence rates: Treponema pallidum (2.6%), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (1.5%), Chlamydia trachomatis (5.8%), Group B Streptococcus (8.6%), bacterial vaginosis (20.9%), hepatitis B virus (4.3%), hepatitis C virus (1.4%), Cytomegalovirus (95.7% past infection), Rubella (8.9% susceptible) and Herpes simplex (20.7%). Large variations in the prevalence of these infections between countries and regions were noted.ConclusionThis review confirms the suspected high prevalence of maternal bacterial and viral infections and identifies particular diseases and regions requiring urgent attention in public health policy planning, setting research priorities and donor funding towards reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries.
| S-EPMC3484781 | biostudies-literature
Project description:13 years after the first Lancet Series on maternal and child undernutrition, we reviewed the progress achieved on the basis of global estimates and new analyses of 50 low-income and middle-income countries with national surveys from around 2000 and 2015. The prevalence of childhood stunting has fallen, and linear growth faltering in early life has become less pronounced over time, markedly in middle-income countries but less so in low-income countries. Stunting and wasting remain public health problems in low-income countries, where 4·7% of children are simultaneously affected by both, a condition associated with a 4·8-times increase in mortality. New evidence shows that stunting and wasting might already be present at birth, and that the incidence of both conditions peaks in the first 6 months of life. Global low birthweight prevalence declined slowly at about 1·0% a year. Knowledge has accumulated on the short-term and long-term consequences of child undernutrition and on its adverse effect on adult human capital. Existing data on vitamin A deficiency among children suggest persisting high prevalence in Africa and south Asia. Zinc deficiency affects close to half of all children in the few countries with data. New evidence on the causes of poor growth points towards subclinical inflammation and environmental enteric dysfunction. Among women of reproductive age, the prevalence of low body-mass index has been reduced by half in middle-income countries, but trends in short stature prevalence are less evident. Both conditions are associated with poor outcomes for mothers and their children, whereas data on gestational weight gain are scarce. Data on the micronutrient status of women are conspicuously scarce, which constitutes an unacceptable data gap. Prevalence of anaemia in women remains high and unabated in many countries. Social inequalities are evident for many forms of undernutrition in women and children, suggesting a key role for poverty and low education, and reinforcing the need for multisectoral actions to accelerate progress. Despite little progress in some areas, maternal and child undernutrition remains a major global health concern, particularly as improvements since 2000 might be offset by the COVID-19 pandemic.
| S-EPMC7613170 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Childhood malnutrition is associated with high morbidity and mortality globally1. Undernourished children are more likely to experience cognitive, physical, and metabolic developmental impairments that can lead to later cardiovascular disease, reduced intellectual ability and school attainment, and reduced economic productivity in adulthood2. Child growth failure (CGF), expressed as stunting, wasting, and underweight in children under five years of age (0-59 months), is a specific subset of undernutrition characterized by insufficient height or weight against age-specific growth reference standards3-5. The prevalence of stunting, wasting, or underweight in children under five is the proportion of children with a height-for-age, weight-for-height, or weight-for-age z-score, respectively, that is more than two standard deviations below the World Health Organization's median growth reference standards for a healthy population6. Subnational estimates of CGF report substantial heterogeneity within countries, but are available primarily at the first administrative level (for example, states or provinces)7; the uneven geographical distribution of CGF has motivated further calls for assessments that can match the local scale of many public health programmes8. Building from our previous work mapping CGF in Africa9, here we provide the first, to our knowledge, mapped high-spatial-resolution estimates of CGF indicators from 2000 to 2017 across 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 99% of affected children live1, aggregated to policy-relevant first and second (for example, districts or counties) administrative-level units and national levels. Despite remarkable declines over the study period, many LMICs remain far from the ambitious World Health Organization Global Nutrition Targets to reduce stunting by 40% and wasting to less than 5% by 2025. Large disparities in prevalence and progress exist across and within countries; our maps identify high-prevalence areas even within nations otherwise succeeding in reducing overall CGF prevalence. By highlighting where the highest-need populations reside, these geospatial estimates can support policy-makers in planning interventions that are adapted locally and in efficiently directing resources towards reducing CGF and its health implications.
| S-EPMC7015855 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Importance:Evidence on the relative importance of various factors associated with child anthropometric failures (ie, stunting, underweight, and wasting) and their heterogeneity across countries can inform global and national health agendas. Objective:To assess the relative significance of factors associated with child anthropometric failures in 35 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Design, Setting, and Participants:This cross-sectional study of 299?353 children who were born singleton and aged 12 to 59 months with nonpregnant mothers and valid anthropometric measures assessed the strengths of associations of 26 factors with child stunting, underweight, and wasting, using Demographic and Health Surveys (2007-2018) from 35 LMICs. Data analysis was conducted from July 2019 to February 2020. Exposures:A total of 9 direct factors (ie, dietary diversity score; breastfeeding initiation; vitamin A supplements; use of iodized salt; infectious disease in past 2 weeks; oral rehydration therapy for children with diarrhea; care seeking for suspected pneumonia; full vaccination; and indoor pollution) and 17 indirect factors (household wealth; maternal and paternal education; maternal and paternal height and body mass index; maternal autonomy for health care, movement, and money; water source; sanitation facility; stool disposal; antenatal care; skilled birth attendant at delivery; family planning needs; and maternal marriage age) were assessed. Main Outcomes and Measures:Three anthropometric failure outcomes were constructed based on the 2006 World Health Organization child growth standards: stunting (height-for-age z score less than -2 standard deviations [SDs]), underweight (weight-for-age z score less than -2 SDs), and wasting (weight-for-height z score less than -2 SDs). Results:Among the 299?353 children aged 12 to 59 months included in the analysis, 38.8% (95% CI, 38.6%-38.9%) had stunting, 27.5% (95% CI, 27.3%-27.6%) had underweight, and 12.9% (95% CI, 12.8%-13.0%) had wasting. In the pooled sample, short maternal height was the strongest factor associated with child stunting (odds ratio [OR], 4.7; 95% CI, 4.5-5.0; P?<?.001), followed by lack of maternal education (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.8-2.0; P?<?.001), poorest household wealth (OR, 1.7; 95% CI,1.6-1.8; P?<?.001), and low maternal body mass index (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.6-1.7; P?<?.001). Short paternal height was also significantly associated with higher odds of stunting (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.7-2.2; P?<?.001). Consistent results were found for underweight (eg, short maternal height: OR, 3.5; 95% CI, 3.3-3.7; P?<?.001; lack of maternal education: OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.7-2.0; P?<?.001) and wasting (eg, low maternal body mass index: OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 2.1-2,4; P?<?.001; poorest household wealth: OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.3; P?<?.001). Parental nutritional status and household socioeconomic conditions ranked the strongest (1st to 4th) for most countries, with a few exceptions (eg, lack of maternal education ranked 18th-20th in 8 countries for child wasting). Other factors were not associated with anthropometric failures in pooled analysis and had large country-level heterogeneity; for example, unsafe water was not associated with child underweight in the pooled analysis (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-1.00; P?<?.001), and it ranked from 4th to 20th across countries. Conclusions and Relevance:In this study, socioeconomic conditions and parental nutritional status were the strongest factors associated with child anthropometric failures. Poverty reduction, women's education, and nutrition programs for households could be important strategies for reducing child undernutrition; however, country-specific contexts should be considered in national policy discussions.
| S-EPMC7177203 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background:Women's employment improves household income, and can increase resources available for food expenditure. However, employed women face time constraints that may influence caregiving and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. As economic and social trends shift to include more women in the labor force in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a current understanding of the association between maternal employment and IYCF is needed. Objective:We investigated the association between maternal employment and IYCF. Design:Using cross-sectional samples from 50 Demographic and Health Surveys, we investigated the association between maternal employment and 3 indicators of IYCF: exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among children aged <6 mo (n = 47,340) and minimum diet diversity (MDD) and minimum meal frequency (MMF) (n = 137,208) among children aged 6-23 mo. Mothers were categorized as formally employed, informally employed, or nonemployed. We used meta-analysis to pool associations across all countries and by region. Results:According to pooled estimates, neither formal [pooled odds ratio (POR) = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.03] nor informal employment (POR = 1.05; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.16), compared to nonemployment, was associated with EBF. Children of both formally and informally employed women, compared to children of nonemployed women, had higher odds of meeting MDD (formal POR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.35, 1.60; informal POR = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.20) and MMF (formal POR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.26; informal POR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.24). Sensitivity analyses indicated that compared to nonemployed mothers, the odds of continued breastfeeding at 1 y were lower among formally employed mothers (POR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.98) and higher among informally employed mothers (POR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.40). Conclusion:Efforts to promote formalized employment among mothers may be an effective method for improving diet diversity and feeding frequency in LMICs. Formally employed mothers may benefit from support for breastfeeding to enable continued breastfeeding through infancy. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03209999.
| S-EPMC6248412 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundOligohydramnios is a condition of abnormally low amniotic fluid volume that has been associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. To date, the prevalence of this condition and its outcomes has not been well described in low and low-middle income countries (LMIC) where ultrasound use to diagnose this condition in pregnancy is limited. As part of a prospective trial of ultrasound at antenatal care in LMICs, we sought to evaluate the incidence of and the adverse maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes associated with oligohydramnios.MethodsWe included data in this report from all pregnant women in community settings in Guatemala, Pakistan, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who received a third trimester ultrasound as part of the First Look Study, a randomized trial to assess the value of ultrasound at antenatal care. Using these data, we conducted a planned secondary analysis to compare pregnancy outcomes of women with to those without oligohydramnios. Oligohydramnios was defined as measurement of an Amniotic Fluid Index less than 5 cm in at least one ultrasound in the third trimester. The outcomes assessed included maternal morbidity and fetal and neonatal mortality, preterm birth and low-birthweight. We used pairwise site comparisons with Tukey-Kramer adjustment and multivariable logistic models using general estimating equations to account for the correlation of outcomes within cluster.ResultsOf 12,940 women enrolled in the clusters in Guatemala, Pakistan, Zambia and the DRC in the First Look Study who had a third trimester ultrasound examination, 87 women were diagnosed with oligohydramnios, equivalent to 0.7% of those studied. Prevalence of detected oligohydramnios varied among study sites; from the lowest of 0.2% in Zambia and the DRC to the highest of 1.5% in Pakistan. Women diagnosed with oligohydramnios had higher rates of hemorrhage, fetal malposition, and cesarean delivery than women without oligohydramnios. We also found unfavorable fetal and neonatal outcomes associated with oligohydramnios including stillbirths (OR 5.16, 95%CI 2.07, 12.85), neonatal deaths < 28 days (OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.18, 8.57), low birth weight (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.44, 3.07) and preterm births (OR 2.73, 95%CI 1.76, 4.23). The mean birth weight was 162 g less (95% CI -288.6, - 35.9) with oligohydramnios.ConclusionsOligohydramnos was associated with worse neonatal, fetal and maternal outcomes in LMIC. Further research is needed to assess effective interventions to diagnose and ultimately to reduce poor outcomes in these settings.Trial registrationNCT01990625.
| S-EPMC6993413 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AIMS:Observational studies have shown a relationship between maternal mental health (MMH) and child development, but few studies have evaluated whether MMH interventions improve child-related outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this review is to synthesise findings on the effectiveness of MMH interventions to improve child-related outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS:We searched for randomised controlled trials conducted in LMICs evaluating interventions with a MMH component and reporting children's outcomes. Meta-analysis was performed on outcomes included in at least two trials. RESULTS:We identified 21 trials with 28 284 mother-child dyads. Most trials were conducted in middle-income countries, evaluating home visiting interventions delivered by general health workers, starting in the third trimester of pregnancy. Only ten trials described acceptable methods for blinding outcome assessors. Four trials showed high risk of bias in at least two of the seven domains assessed in this review. Narrative synthesis showed promising but inconclusive findings for child-related outcomes. Meta-analysis identified a sizeable impact of interventions on exclusive breastfeeding (risk ratio = 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13-1.71, ten trials, N = 4749 mother-child dyads, I2 = 61%) and a small effect on child height-for-age at 6-months (std. mean difference = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02-0.24, three trials, N = 1388, I2 = 0%). Meta-analyses did not identify intervention benefits for child cognitive and other growth outcomes; however, few trials measured these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS:These findings support the importance of MMH to improve child-related outcomes in LMICs, particularly exclusive breastfeeding. Given, the small number of trials and methodological limitations, more rigorous trials should be conducted.
| S-EPMC7681164 | biostudies-literature