Childhood stunting in relation to the pre- and postnatal environment during the first 2 years of life: The MAL-ED longitudinal birth cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Stunting is the most prevalent manifestation of childhood malnutrition. To characterize factors that contribute to stunting in resource-poor settings, we studied a priori selected biological and social factors collected longitudinally in a cohort of newborns.

Methods and findings

We enrolled 1,868 children across 7 resource-poor settings in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, and Tanzania shortly after birth and followed them for 24 months between 2 November 2009 and 28 February 2014. We collected longitudinal anthropometry, sociodemographic factors, maternal-reported illnesses, and antibiotic use; child feeding practices; dietary intake starting at 9 months; and longitudinal blood, urine, and stool samples to investigate non-diarrheal enteropath

SUBMITTER: MAL-ED Network Investigators 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5656304 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature