Department of Laboratory Technology, Kumasi Technical University, Kumasi, Ghana.
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2021 May 19;16(5):e0251335. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251335. eCollection 2021.
Good nutritional status of school-aged children is crucial in achieving improved cognition. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between nutritional status and cognition of school-aged children in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana.
389 children were selected from ten government-owned schools. Socio-demographic and anthropometric data were collected. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for nutrients levels. Dietary intakes were assessed using food frequency questionnaire and previous day's nutrients intake. Cognition test was performed using the Ravens Colored Progressive Matrix (RCPM).
Mean age of participants was 8.9±1.4 years, mean RCPM score was 17.9±5.4. More girls scored RCPM below the 40th percentile (45.5%) than boys (33.7%), while mother's level of education significantly associated with RCPM percentiles of the children (p = 0.037). Four dietary patterns were generated from food frequency data, and scores of the second pattern, depicting vegetables, non-fruits, bread and cereals, showed a weak negative correlation (r = -0.132, p = 0.026) with previous day's dietary zinc intake. Cognitive status did not vary by anthropometric and dietary patterns. More anemic (54.4%) than non-anemic (33.3%) children were below the 40th RCPM percentile. Mean previous day's intake for folate (p<0.001), vitamin B6 (p = 0.018), iron (p<0.001), and zinc (p = 0.001) differed significantly between the cognitive test score percentiles of the children. Spearman rank correlation showed weak positive associations between RCPM score and hemoglobin (r = 0.246, p = 0.003) and serum ferritin (r = 0.176, p = 0.036). Binary regression analysis showed anemic children (aOR = 0.4; 95%CI = 0.2-0.8, p = 0.014), compared with non-anemic had decreased odds, while boys, compared with girls had increased odds (aOR = 2.0 95%CI = 1.0-4.0, p = 0.035) for scoring above the 50th RCPM percentile.
Iron status, especially hemoglobin levels, correlated with the cognitive performance of school-aged children in the metropolis. Thus nutritional strategies aimed at reducing iron deficiency anemia are needed.
学龄儿童良好的营养状况对于提高认知能力至关重要。本研究旨在评估加纳库马西大都市区学龄儿童营养状况与认知能力的关系。
从十所政府所有的学校中选取 389 名儿童。收集社会人口统计学和人体测量学数据。采集血样并分析营养素水平。使用食物频率问卷和前一天的营养素摄入量评估膳食摄入量。使用瑞文标准推理测验（RCPM）进行认知测试。
参与者的平均年龄为 8.9±1.4 岁，平均 RCPM 得分为 17.9±5.4。与男孩（33.7%）相比，更多的女孩（45.5%）RCPM 得分低于第 40 百分位，而母亲的受教育水平与儿童的 RCPM 百分位显著相关（p = 0.037）。从食物频率数据中生成了四个饮食模式，第二个模式（描述蔬菜、非水果、面包和谷物）的得分与前一天的膳食锌摄入量呈弱负相关（r = -0.132，p = 0.026）。认知状况不因人体测量和饮食模式而异。与非贫血儿童（33.3%）相比，贫血儿童（54.4%）的 RCPM 得分低于第 40 百分位。儿童认知测验得分百分位之间的叶酸（p<0.001）、维生素 B6（p = 0.018）、铁（p<0.001）和锌（p = 0.001）的前一天摄入量差异有统计学意义。Spearman 秩相关分析显示，RCPM 得分与血红蛋白（r = 0.246，p = 0.003）和血清铁蛋白（r = 0.176，p = 0.036）呈弱正相关。二元回归分析显示，与非贫血儿童相比，贫血儿童（aOR = 0.4；95%CI = 0.2-0.8，p = 0.014）得分高于第 50 百分位的可能性较低，而男孩（aOR = 2.0；95%CI = 1.0-4.0，p = 0.035）得分高于第 50 百分位的可能性较高。
铁的状态，特别是血红蛋白水平，与大都市学龄儿童的认知表现相关。因此，需要制定旨在减少缺铁性贫血的营养策略。
