Exploring the Associations between Early Childhood Development Outcomes and Ecological Country-Level Factors across Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Allel, Kasim; Jaoude, Gerard Joseph Abou; Poupakis, Stavros; Batura, Neha; Skordis‐Worrall, Jolene; Haghparast‐Bidgoli, Hassan

doi:10.3390/ijerph18073340

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 41 publications

(62 reference statements)

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“…The discrepancy in these results could be due to the small sample size, but this association is plausible given the knowledge of the effects of lead exposure on children’s development. Additionally, not being developmentally on-track according to the ECDI has been associated with environmental exposures [ 59 ] and with other factors such as low SES, lack of early stimulation, and malnutrition [ 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead Exposure Can Affect Early Childhood Development and Could Be Aggravated by Stunted Growth: Perspectives from Mexico

Córdoba-Gamboa

Vázquez-Salas

Romero-Martínez

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Background: Lead can affect early childhood development (ECD) differentially due to nutritional deficiencies that lead to stunted growth, defined as being at least two standard deviations below the average height-for-age. These deficiencies are more frequent among children living in rural locations or with lower socioeconomic status (SES); however, studies at a population level are scarce worldwide. Early childhood development plays a crucial role in influencing a child’s health and wellbeing throughout life. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze how stunted growth can modify the association between lead exposure and ECD in children from disadvantaged communities. Methods: Data were analyzed from the 2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey in localities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants in Mexico (ENSANUT-100K). Capillary blood lead (BPb) levels were measured using a LeadCare II device and dichotomized as detectable (cutoff point ≥ 3.3 µg/dL) and non-detectable. As a measure of ECD, language development was assessed in n = 1394 children, representing 2,415,000 children aged 12–59 months. To assess the association between lead exposure and language z-scores, a linear model was generated adjusted by age, sex, stunted growth, maternal education, socioeconomic status, area, region (north, center, south), and family care characteristics; afterwards, the model was stratified by stunted growth. Results: Fifty percent of children had detectable BPb and 15.3% had stunted growth. BPb showed a marginal inverse association with language z-scores (β: −0.08, 95% CI: −0.53, 0.36). Children with detectable BPb and stunted growth had significantly lower language z-scores (β: −0.40, 95% CI: −0.71, −0.10) than those without stunted growth (β: −0.15, 95% CI: −0.36, 0.06). Conclusions: Children with stunted growth are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of lead exposure. These results add to previous research calling for action to reduce lead exposure, particularly in children with chronic undernutrition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead Exposure Can Affect Early Childhood Development and Could Be Aggravated by Stunted Growth: Perspectives from Mexico

Córdoba-Gamboa

Vázquez-Salas

Romero-Martínez

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Unlevel Playing Field: Socioeconomic Determinants of Early Childhood Development in Turkiye

Karaoğlan,

Dayioğlu,

Saraçoğlu

et al. 2024

Child Ind Res

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We investigate the socioeconomic determinants of early childhood development (ECD) in Türkiye, focusing on maternal education and household wealth, using representative microdata from the 2018 Türkiye Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS), which collected data on the developmental status of young children aged 36–59 months for the first time. Using this data, we construct an ECD index based on four developmental domains (i.e., literacy-numeracy, physical development, learning readiness and socio-emotional). Our results suggest that 74 percent of children (70.3 percent of boys and 78 percent of girls) are developmentally on track. We find that while over 96 percent of children are developmentally on track in physical and learning readiness domains, only 14.5 percent and 73.6 percent are in the literacy-numeracy and socio-emotional development domains, respectively. The multivariate regression results suggest both maternal education and household wealth improve children’s ECD outcomes but the latter has a stronger effect. In fact, we find that mother’s schooling is only positively and statistically associated with ECD once mothers have at least a high school education. Kindergarten attendance, which stands at a meagre 11.3 percent, is only likely for children from well-to-do and educated households. As a result, we find large gaps in ECD and its components between children with low and high socioeconomic backgrounds. We conclude that leveling the playing field is only possible via a nationwide multisectoral initiative that can support and educate caregivers and children simultaneously.

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Latent classes of early childhood development and their predictors in Low- and middle-income countries: Results from multiple indicator cluster surveys 2010 - 2020

Sun,

Zhang,

Guo

et al. 2024

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

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Exploring the Associations between Early Childhood Development Outcomes and Ecological Country-Level Factors across Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Cited by 7 publications

References 41 publications

Lead Exposure Can Affect Early Childhood Development and Could Be Aggravated by Stunted Growth: Perspectives from Mexico

Lead Exposure Can Affect Early Childhood Development and Could Be Aggravated by Stunted Growth: Perspectives from Mexico

Unlevel Playing Field: Socioeconomic Determinants of Early Childhood Development in Turkiye

Latent classes of early childhood development and their predictors in Low- and middle-income countries: Results from multiple indicator cluster surveys 2010 - 2020

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