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Testing hypothesized predictors of immune activation in tanzanian infants and children: Community, household, caretaker, and child effects
Author(s) -
Hadley Craig,
Decaro Jason A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.22558
Subject(s) - anthropometry , tanzania , medicine , c reactive protein , sanitation , environmental health , demography , immunology , inflammation , environmental planning , pathology , sociology , environmental science
Objectives There is increasing interest in the epidemiology of immune activation among young children because of the links with mortality and growth. We hypothesized that infant and child inflammation, as measured by elevated C‐reactive protein (CRP), would be associated with household assets, household size, measures of sanitation, and food insecurity. We also hypothesized that children in the poorest households and with elevated CRP would show evidence of growth faltering. Methods A nationally representative cross‐sectional study of Tanzania children 6–59 months of age. Survey data, anthropometrics, and dried blood spots were available for 1,387 children. Measures of elevated CRP (CRP ≥ 1.1 mg/l) were used to assess inflammation. Results Fifty‐four percent of the sample had CRP ≥ 1.1 mg/l. In bivariate analyses, several measures of sanitation were associated with elevated CRP but in multiple regression models only age, sex, literacy, maternal reports of illness, household size, and living in the wealthiest households predicted CRP. There were no associations between elevated CRP and any measure of child growth. Conclusions Among children in Tanzania, a single elevated CRP does not predict poor growth functioning. Elevated CRP is associated with individual, caretaker, household, and community‐level variables. Future work should strive to measure local biologies in more nuanced ways. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 26:523–529, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.