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Child growth from age 1 to age 8 y in four low‐and middle‐income countries: Young Lives
Author(s) -
Lundeen Elizabeth A,
Behrman Jere,
Crookston Benjamin,
Dearden Kirk,
Engle Patrice,
Georgiadis Andreas,
Penny Mary,
Stein Aryeh
Publication year - 2013
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.27.1_supplement.355.5
Subject(s) - demography , medicine , cohort , sociology
Objective We characterized child growth patterns in four countries and assessed the degree of recovery from linear growth retardation. Design We analyzed length/height at ages 1, 5, and 8 y for a cohort of 7,259 children in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. Results Mean height‐for‐age z score (HAZ) at age 1 y ranged from −1.83 (Ethiopia) to −1.14 (Vietnam). From ages 1 to 5 y, mean HAZ increased by 0.34 in Ethiopia and decreased among the other countries (range: −0.20 to −0.30). From 5 to 8 y, mean HAZ increased in all the countries (range: 0.20 to 0.38). Stunting prevalence at 1 y ranged from 21.4% (Vietnam) to 46.5% (Ethiopia). From 1 to 5 y, stunting prevalence decreased 15.1 percentage points (PP) in Ethiopia and increased in the other countries (range: 3.1 to 5.3 PP). From 5 to 8 y, stunting prevalence decreased in all the countries. Among children stunted at 1 y, 45% (Vietnam and India) to 66% (Ethiopia) were non‐stunted by 8 y. 40–71% and 26–45% of variance in HAZ at 5 and 8 y, respectively, was not predicted by HAZ at earlier ages. Conclusions HAZ at age 1 y is predictive of HAZ at ages 5 and 8, but after age 1 there is substantial increase in HAZ overall and substantial unpredicted variation in HAZ change that might be amenable to household interventions and caretaker behaviors after age 1. Source of research support: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Development.