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Nutrition factors predict earlier acquisition of motor and language milestones among young children in Haiti
Author(s) -
Iannotti Lora,
Jean Louis Dulience Sherlie,
Wolff Patricia,
Cox Katherine,
Lesorogol Carolyn,
Kohl Patricia
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.13483
Subject(s) - medicine , anthropometry , breastfeeding , developmental milestone , longitudinal study , gross motor skill , psychological intervention , pediatrics , child development , language development , motor skill , demography , gerontology , environmental health , developmental psychology , psychology , pathology , psychiatry , sociology
Aim To examine the nutrition‐related factors associated with motor and language development among young children living in a poor urban area of Haiti. Methods Children aged 6–11 months (n = 583) were enrolled and followed monthly for one year. World Health Organization motor developmental milestones and vowel and consonant counts were assessed. Longitudinal regression models were applied to assess the association of anthropometric, dietary intake, infectious disease morbidity and socio‐economic and demographic factors on developmental outcomes. Results At baseline, 9.4% were stunted or length‐for‐age Z score < −2, and 30.2% were mild‐to‐moderately stunted or length‐for‐age Z score < −1. Stunting status was significantly associated with motor and phonetic language acquisition at each time point during infancy. Several nutrition factors significantly predicted earlier achievement of motor and language development outcomes in longitudinal models: child anthropometry; breastfeeding and complementary feeding frequencies; dietary diversity; egg and oil intake; and reduced infectious disease morbidities. Increases in the length‐for‐age Z score significantly predicted all motor and language outcomes and yielded the best fit models compared to other anthropometric indicators (p < 0.001). Conclusion Child development interventions may be enhanced by incorporating nutrition strategies such as improved diet quality, breastfeeding promotion and diarrhoeal disease mitigation.