Maternal and Child Wellbeing (MCW) Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi 00100, Kenya.
Medical Research Council, Uganda Virus Research Institute and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe P.O. Box 49, Uganda.
Nutrients. 2022 Mar 30;14(7):1452. doi: 10.3390/nu14071452.
Children living in Sub-Saharan Africa are vulnerable to developmental delay, particularly in the critical first five years due to various adverse exposures including disease and nutritional deficiencies. Anemia and iron deficiency (ID) are highly prevalent in pregnant mothers and young children and are implicated in abnormal brain development. However, available evidence on the association between anemia, ID and neurodevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. Using data from the Entebbe Mother and Baby Study prospective birth cohort, we examined the effect of maternal and child hemoglobin (Hb) levels and child iron status on developmental scores in 933 and 530 pre-school Ugandan children respectively. Associations between Hb levels, iron status and developmental scores were assessed using regression analyses adjusting for potential confounders. Lower maternal and child Hb levels were associated with reduced psychomotor scores at 15 months, while only lower Hb levels in infancy were associated with reduced language scores. We found no evidence that anemia or ID was associated with cognitive or motor scores at five years. This study emphasizes the importance of managing anemia in pregnancy and infancy and highlights the need for further studies on the effects of anemia and ID in children living in Sub-Saharan Africa.
生活在撒哈拉以南非洲的儿童易受到发育迟缓的影响，特别是在生命最初的五年，因为各种不利因素，包括疾病和营养缺乏。孕妇和幼儿中普遍存在贫血和缺铁（ID）的情况，这与异常的大脑发育有关。然而，关于撒哈拉以南非洲地区贫血、缺铁与神经发育之间的关联的现有证据有限。利用恩德培母婴研究前瞻性出生队列的数据，我们分别检查了 933 名学龄前乌干达儿童的母亲和儿童血红蛋白（Hb）水平以及儿童铁状况对发育评分的影响，以及 530 名儿童。通过调整潜在混杂因素的回归分析，评估了 Hb 水平、铁状况与发育评分之间的关联。较低的母亲和儿童 Hb 水平与 15 个月时的运动评分降低有关，而婴儿期较低的 Hb 水平仅与语言评分降低有关。我们没有发现贫血或缺铁与五岁时的认知或运动评分有关的证据。本研究强调了在妊娠和婴儿期管理贫血的重要性，并强调需要进一步研究撒哈拉以南非洲地区儿童贫血和缺铁的影响。
