Department of Environmental Health, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
School of Psychology, University of East London, London, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2019 Jan 17;14(1):e0210568. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210568. eCollection 2019.
Adequate provision of safe water, basic sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities and behavior change can reduce pupil absence and infectious disease. Increased drinking water quantity may also improve educational outcomes through the effect of hydration on attention, concentration, and short-term memory. A pilot study was conducted to adapt field measures of short-term cognitive performance and hydration, to evaluate levels of hydration, and to investigate the impact of providing supplementary drinking water on the cognitive performance of pupils attending water-scarce schools in rural Mali. Using a cross-over trial design, data were collected under normal school conditions (control condition) on one visit day; on the other, participants were given a bottle of water that was refilled throughout the day (water condition). Morning and afternoon hydration was assessed using specific gravity and urine color. Cognitive performance was evaluated using six paper-based tests. Three percent of pupils were dehydrated on the morning of each visit. The prevalence of dehydration increased in the afternoon, but was lower under the water condition. Although there was a trend indicating drinking water may improve cognitive test performance, as has been shown in studies in other settings, results were not statistically significant and were masked by a "practice effect."
充足的安全水供应、基本卫生设施和个人卫生（WASH）以及行为改变可以减少学生缺勤和传染病。增加饮用水量也可能通过水合作用对注意力、集中力和短期记忆的影响来提高教育成果。进行了一项试点研究，以调整短期认知表现和水合作用的现场测量，评估水合水平，并研究在马里农村水资源匮乏的学校为学生提供补充饮用水对其认知表现的影响。该研究采用交叉试验设计，在正常上学日（对照条件）收集了一天的数据；在另一天，参与者会获得一瓶全天补充水分的水（水条件）。使用比重计和尿液颜色评估早晨和下午的水合作用。使用六项纸质测试评估认知表现。在每次访问的早晨，有 3%的学生出现脱水症状。下午脱水的患病率增加，但在水条件下则较低。尽管有趋势表明饮用水可能会改善认知测试表现，就像在其他环境中的研究一样，但结果并不具有统计学意义，并且被“练习效应”所掩盖。
