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Household food security is associated with early childhood language development in rural Bangladesh
Author(s) -
Saha Kuntal K.,
Tofail Fahmida,
Frongillo Edward A.,
Mehrin Fardina,
Arifeen Shams E.,
Persson Lars Å.,
Rasmussen Kathleen M.,
Hamadani Jena D.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.336.2
Subject(s) - bayley scales of infant development , food security , child development , early childhood , language development , cognitive development , confounding , gross motor skill , medicine , environmental health , pediatrics , developmental psychology , motor skill , psychology , agriculture , cognition , geography , psychomotor learning , psychiatry , archaeology , pathology
Although household food security (HHFS) has been linked to academic performance in school children, its association with early childhood development has received less attention. We studied this association in 1439 infants born in 2002‐2003 in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Intervention in Matlab study in Bangladesh. A HHFS scale was created from data on HHFS collected from their mothers during pregnancy. Infants' cognitive and motor development was assessed at 7 mo using a means‐end‐problem‐solving test and Bayley Scales of Infant Development‐II (BSID‐II), respectively, and was reassessed at 18 mo using BSID‐II and a language test based on MacArthur's Communicative Development Inventory. We used linear regression, adjusting for potential confounders. HHFS was positively associated with language expression (P < 0.01) and comprehension (P < 0.05) at 18 mo, but not with mental or motor development at 7 mo or 18 mo of age. These findings emphasize the importance of HHFS during pregnancy for early childhood development and also provide a strong reason to ensure HHFS in low‐income countries for optimum childhood development. (MINIMat was funded by ICDDR,B, UNICEF, Sida‐SAREC, UK MRC, Swedish Research Council, DFID, CHNRI, Uppsala Univ. & USAID.)