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Peruvian children who recover from early stunting and well‐nourished children demonstrate similar cognition
Author(s) -
Crookston Benjamin T,
Dearden Kirk A,
Alder Stephen C,
Merrill Ray M,
Dickerson Ty T,
Stanford Joseph B,
Porucznik Christina A,
Penny Mary E
Publication year - 2010
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.24.1_supplement.734.6
Subject(s) - anthropometry , peabody picture vocabulary test , cognition , cognitive development , stunted growth , demography , malnutrition , attendance , residence , medicine , pediatrics , psychology , developmental psychology , gerontology , pathology , psychiatry , sociology , economics , economic growth
Stunting typically occurs by age 2 and can have lifelong effects. However, some children demonstrate catch‐up growth. We hypothesize that catch‐up growth after 2 years of age yields long‐term cognitive benefits. Our objective was to determine whether children who experienced catch‐up growth had cognitive abilities similar to never‐stunted children. We used longitudinal data on 1674 Peruvian children from the Young Lives study. Anthropometric data were collected at 1 and 5 years of age (rounds 1 & 2). Using a cutoff HAZ of −2, we categorized subjects as never stunted, catch‐up, late incident, or persistently stunted. Cognitive outcomes (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Cognitive Development Assessment) from round 2 were compared for each stunting category. Factors associated with catch‐up growth included urban residence, pre‐school attendance and maternal education. Children who demonstrated catch‐up growth and children who were not stunted at either age had similar verbal (p=.6236) and quantitative (p=.6930) cognitive scores. Late incident and persistently stunted children scored significantly lower on both tests. Efforts to improve nutrition beyond 2 years of age benefit cognition.