Correlation between neuropsychomotor development and nutritional status of children from 13 to 30 months of age: a preliminar study

Introduction: The knowledge about the impact of biological and socio- environmental factors on motor development is essential to generate subsidies to planning strategies to promote and prevent neuropsychomotor delays. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of nutritional factors on the neuropsychomotor development of children aged 13 to 30 months, through the correlation between neuropsychomotor development assessed by the Denver II test and the nutritional status calculated by the z score of BMI-for-age (z-BMI/A) and weight-for-height (z-W/H). Methods: This study was carried out with nine children regularly enrolled in the Braziliand public education system. Results: Based on the final interpretation of the Denver II test, a prevalence of 33% of children with atypical performance (2 male and 1 female) was found. Regarding to z-BMI/A, one child was characterized as overweight (1 male) and three children were at risk of being overweight (1 male and 2 female), based on z-W/H three children were at risk of being overweight (2 male and 1 female). The Pearson correlation test showed that there was a strong association between changes in the Denver II and the nutritional status. Conclusion: The findings of the present study show that children classified as overweight and at risk of being overweight are more likely to be at risk for development, based on Denver test. Therefore, taking together the above findings, the present study reinforces the importance of evaluating and monitoring longitudinally both nutritional and motor development, highlighting the importance of multiprofessional performance and early approach.