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Associations between individual variations in visual attention at 9 months and behavioral competencies at 18 months in rural Malawi.

ABSTRACT: Theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that individual differences in infant visual attention correlate with variations in cognitive skills later in childhood. Here we tested this hypothesis in infants from rural Malawi (n = 198-377, depending on analysis), who were assessed with eye tracking tests of visual orienting, anticipatory looks, and attention to faces at 9 months, and more conventional tests of cognitive control (A-not-B), motor, language, and socioemotional development at 18 months. The results showed no associations between measures of infant attention at 9 months and cognitive skills at 18 months, either in analyses linking infant visual orienting with broad cognitive outcomes or analyses linking specific constructs between the two time points (i.e., switching of anticipatory looks and manual reaching responses), as correlations varied between -0.08 and 0.14. Measures of physical growth, and family socioeconomic characteristics were also not correlated with cognitive outcomes at 18 months in the current sample (correlations between -0.10 and 0.19). The results do not support the use of the current tests of infant visual attention as a predictive tool for 18-month-old infants' cognitive skills in the Malawian setting. The results are discussed in light of the potential limitations of the employed infant tests as well as potentially unique characteristics of early cognitive development in low-resource settings.

SUBMITTER: Pyykko J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7529224 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Associations between individual variations in visual attention at 9 months and behavioral competencies at 18 months in rural Malawi.

Pyykkö Juha J Ashorn Ulla U Chilora Eletina E Maleta Kenneth K Ashorn Per P Leppänen Jukka M JM

PloS one 20201001 10

Theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that individual differences in infant visual attention correlate with variations in cognitive skills later in childhood. Here we tested this hypothesis in infants from rural Malawi (n = 198-377, depending on analysis), who were assessed with eye tracking tests of visual orienting, anticipatory looks, and attention to faces at 9 months, and more conventional tests of cognitive control (A-not-B), motor, language, and socioemotional development at 18 ...[more]

PMID: 33002053

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Project description:Abstract Objectives To determine the long-term impact of a micronutrient fortified supplement on stunting rates and micronutrient status in young children living in rural Guatemala, which has the highest stunting prevalence in Latin America. Methods A parallel, open label randomised control trial in rural children aged 6–72 months (Registration NCT01643187). After growth screening, all children < 1SD for either weight for height (WHZ), height for age (HAZ), or weight for age (WAZ) were randomly allocated using 7:3 ratio, stratified by locality and age to receive either the test drink, Chispuditos®, a corn/soy beverage fortified with 21 vitamins or de-lactosed milk (control). Both drinks were isoproteic (4g/drink) and had similar energy content (test drink 147 kcal, milk 117 kcal) but the tst drink had higher micronutrient content (e.g., 9 mg zinc, 12.5 mg iron vs 1.5 mg zinc, 1.9 mg iron in control). They were supplied for 18 months and monthly visits were conducted to test for adherence. Results A total of 1238 children were screened, 971 met the criteria and 681 were allocated to test drink and 290 to control. At baseline, malnutrition prevalence of stunting (HAZ < -2SD), for test vs control was 48.4% vs 47.9%, 5.5% vs 6.7% for wasting (WHZ < -2SD) and 19.9% vs 18.7% for underweight (WAZ < -2SD). 73% of children reported to consume at least half of allocated drinks/day. After 18 months of intervention, the prevalence and relative risks [RR (95% CI)] for stunting in the test: control were 40.6:40.7% [RR 0.99 (0.84, 1.19)]; similarly, no differences were seen in WAZ, WHZ nor micronutrient status. Conclusions In this trial in rural Guatemalan children, long term supplementation with a micronutrient enriched drink had no impact on either stunting or micronutrient status. These results differ form long-term studies in urban Guatemalan nurseries. The present study suggest that fortified foods alone are not enough to reduce stunting rates in this setting when fed during an 18 month period. Funding Sources The Mathile Institute for the Advancement of Human Nutrition funded this study.

Project description:BackgroundThe complex interaction between malaria and undernutrition leads to increased mortality and morbidity rate among young children in malaria-endemic regions. Results from previous interventions suggest that improving nutritional status of young children may reduce the burden of malaria. This study tested a hypothesis that provision of lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) or corn-soy blend (CSB) supplementation to 6-18-month-old children in Malawi would reduce the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria among them.MethodsA total of 840 6-month-old children were enrolled in a randomized trial. The participants received 12-month supplementation with three different daily dietary supplementations: CSB, soy-LNS, or milk-LNS, and one control group without supplementation. The prevalence rate of asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum was determined by real-time PCR from the participant's dried blood spots (DBS) collected at the baseline and every 3 months. The global null hypothesis was tested using modified Poisson regression to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR) between the control group and three intervention groups at all ages combined. All the models were adjusted for malaria at baseline, season of DBS sample collection, site of enrolment, and household asset Z-score.ResultsAll children combined, the prevalence of P. falciparum was 14.1% at enrollment, 8.7% at 9 months, 11.2% at 12 months, 13.0% at 15 months and 22.4% at 18 months of age. Among all samples that were taken after enrolment, the prevalence was 12.1% in control group, 12.2% in milk-LNS, 14.0% in soy-LNS, and 17.2% in CSB group. Compared to children in the control group the prevalence ratio of positive malaria tests was 1.19 (95% CI 0.81-1.74; P = 0.372) in the milk-LNS group, 1.32 (95% CI 0.88-1.96; P = 0.177) in the soy-LNS group and 1.72 (95% CI 1.19-2.49; P = 0.004) in the CSB group.ConclusionThe study findings do not support a hypothesis that LNS or CSB supplementation would reduce the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria among Malawian children. In contrast, there was a signal of a possible increase in malaria prevalence among children supplemented with CSB.

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Associations between individual variations in visual attention at 9 months and behavioral competencies at 18 months in rural Malawi.

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Associations between individual variations in visual attention at 9 months and behavioral competencies at 18 months in rural Malawi.

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