Mental Health, Cognition and Academic Performance in the 1st Year of Elementary Education

Dias, Natália Martins; Seabra, Alessandra Gotuzo

doi:10.1590/1413-82712020250306

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…By comparison, there was a weaker association between the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the SAT. This may partly be because SDQ is a caregiver-reported tool, although caregiverreported and teacher-reported SDQ were associated with academic scores among children in Brazil 62 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Characterising school-age health and function in rural Zimbabwe using the SAHARAN toolbox

Piper

Mazhanga

Mapako

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Introduction: School-age health, growth and development are poorly characterised in low- and middle-income countries. We developed the School-Age Health, Activity, Resilience, Anthropometry and Neurocognitive (SAHARAN) toolbox to measure growth, cognitive and physical function in rural Zimbabwe. Methods: The SAHARAN toolbox was developed using a stepwise approach, with tool selection based on COSMIN principles. Growth was measured with anthropometry, skinfold thicknesses and bioimpedance analysis to obtain lean mass index (LMI) and phase angle. Cognition was assessed using a fine motor finger tapping task, school achievement test (SAT), and the Kaufmann Assessment Battery for Children (KABC-2) to determine the mental processing index (MPI). Physical function combined grip strength, broad jump and the 20m shuttle run test to produce a total physical score (TPS). A detailed caregiver questionnaire was performed in parallel. Results: 80 Zimbabwean children with mean (SD) age 7.6 (0.2) years had mean height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ) of -0.63 (0.81) and -0.55 (0.85), respectively. For growth measures, LMI and total skinfold thicknesses were highly related to both WAZ and BMI Z-score, but not to HAZ. For physical function, TPS was associated with unit rises in HAZ (1.29, 95%CI 0.75,1.82, p<0.001), and LMI (0.50, 95%CI 0.16,0.83, p=0.004), but not skinfold thicknesses. For cognition, the SAT was highly associated with unit increases in the MPI (0.9 marks, 95%CI 0.4,1.3, p<0.001) and a child socioemotional questionnaire (8.2 marks, 95%CI 2.9,13.5, p=0.003). Phase angle was associated with 3.5 seconds quicker time to complete the finger tapping task (95%CI 0.6,6.4, p=0.02). No child outcomes were associated with socioeconomic status, nurturing, discipline, food and water insecurity, or household adversity. Conclusions: We found clear associations between growth, height-adjusted lean mass and physical function, but not cognitive function, in a cohort of Zimbabwean children. The SAHARAN toolbox could be deployed to characterise school-age growth, development and function in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Characterising school-age health and function in rural Zimbabwe using the SAHARAN toolbox

Piper

Mazhanga

Mapako

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…By comparison, there was no association between the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the SAT. This may partly be because SDQ is a caregiver-reported tool, although caregiver-reported and teacher-reported SDQ were associated with academic scores among children in Brazil [ 71 ]. A recent follow-up of the MAL-ED cohort showed that socioeconomic status was associated with cognitive scores at 5 years [ 72 ]; our study also found a trend towards increasing MPI with a rise in socioeconomic scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterising school-age health and function in rural Zimbabwe using the SAHARAN toolbox

et al. 2023

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Introduction We developed the School-Age Health, Activity, Resilience, Anthropometry and Neurocognitive (SAHARAN) toolbox to address the shortage of school-age assessment tools that combine growth, physical and cognitive function. Here we present i) development, acceptability and feasibility of the SAHARAN toolbox; ii) characteristics of a pilot cohort; and iii) associations between the domains measured in the cohort. Methods Growth was measured with anthropometry, knee-heel length and skinfold thicknesses. Bioimpedance analysis measured lean mass index and phase angle. Cognition was assessed using the mental processing index, derived from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children version 2, a fine motor finger-tapping task, and School Achievement Test (SAT). Physical function combined grip strength, broad jump and the 20m shuttle-run test to produce a total physical score. A caregiver questionnaire was performed in parallel. Results The SAHARAN toolbox was feasible to implement in rural Zimbabwe, and highly acceptable to children and caregivers following some minor modifications. Eighty children with mean (SD) age 7.6 (0.2) years had mean height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ) of -0.63 (0.81) and -0.55 (0.85), respectively. Lean mass index and total skinfold thicknesses were related to WAZ and BMI Z-score, but not to HAZ. Total physical score was associated with unit rises in HAZ (1.29, 95% CI 0.75, 1.82, p<0.001), and lean mass index (0.50, 95% CI 0.16, 0.83, p = 0.004), but not skinfold thicknesses. The SAT was associated with unit increases in the mental processing index and child socioemotional score. The caregiver questionnaire identified high levels of adversity and food insecurity. Conclusions The SAHARAN toolbox provided a feasible and acceptable holistic assessment of child growth and function in mid-childhood. We found clear associations between growth, height-adjusted lean mass and physical function, but not cognitive function. The SAHARAN toolbox could be deployed to characterise school-age growth, development and function elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Mental Health, Cognition and Academic Performance in the 1st Year of Elementary Education

Cited by 2 publications

References 24 publications

Characterising school-age health and function in rural Zimbabwe using the SAHARAN toolbox

Characterising school-age health and function in rural Zimbabwe using the SAHARAN toolbox

Characterising school-age health and function in rural Zimbabwe using the SAHARAN toolbox

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