High Prevalence of Stunting and Anaemia Is Associated with Multiple Micronutrient Deficiencies in School Children of Small-Scale Farmers from Chamwino and Kilosa Districts, Tanzania

Abstract

Inadequate macro- and micronutrient nutrition and its consequences, such as anaemia, iron and vitamin deficiency, and growth retardation, could particularly affect children of small-scale farmers. In the present cross-sectional study, 666 school children aged 5–10 years from villages of Chamwino and Kilosa districts were studied for associations between nutritional and micronutrient status and dietary intake. The overall prevalence of stunting, underweight, and overweight was 28.1, 14.4, and 5%, while that of anaemia and deficiency of iron (ID), vitamin A (VAD), and zinc (ZnD) was 42.9, 29.3, 24.9, and 32.8%, respectively. Dietary recalls (24h) revealed that, except of iron (74%), only small proportions of children reached the recommended daily micronutrient intakes: 4% for zinc, 19% for vitamin A, and 14–46% for B vitamins. Stunting was highly associated with wasting in both districts and with VAD in Chamwino. Anaemia was predicted by ID, VAD, and ZnD in Chamwino and by elevated infection markers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and α-1 glycoprotein (AGP), in Kilosa. Overall, elevated CRP and/or AGP increased the risk while higher serum carotenoids indicating a diet of more fruit and vegetables reduced the risk of VAD. The significantly lower prevalence of anaemia and ID in Chamwino was related to higher iron and vitamin A intake and the consumption of mainly bulrush millet with dark green leafy vegetables compared to maize or rice with legumes in Kilosa. Nutrition and hygiene education integrated with home and school garden programmes could reduce the multiple burdens of anaemia; micronutrient deficiencies and infections; and, in the long term, the prevalence of stunting.

Anthropometrics, Hemoglobin Status and Dietary Micronutrient Intake among Tanzanian and Mozambican Pigeon Pea Farmers

“…A study among 90 pregnant women from Tanzania showed significant improvements of vitamin A status (plasma retinol) through an increased consumption of green leafy vegetables with oil, which increases the bioavailability of pro-vitamin A carotenoid [ 46 ]. Another study on 666 mother–children pairs from two different districts of rural Tanzania proved that the consumption of whole-grain millet with DGLVs led to improved blood iron status (mothers and children) and better vitamin A status (retinol in serum of mothers) compared to processed grains with legumes, which consequently resulted in a significantly lower prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency [ 21 , 47 ]. In the present study, the prevalence of anemia and the deficient dietary intake of vitamin A and iron was the highest in female farmers from Mozambique.…”

Pelatihan Budidaya Tanaman Hidroponik dan Edukasi untuk Meningkatkan Gerakan Makan Sayur di Panti Asuhan Jakarta

“…Indonesia merupakan negara kelima dengan angka stunting tertinggi di dunia (Titaley et al, 2019). Ketidakcukupan makronutrien dan mikronutrien akan mengakibatkan anemia, defisensi besi dan vitamin, dan juga retardasi pertumbuhan (Dewey et al, 2020;Gowele et al, 2021). Anak-anak yang mengalami retardasi pertumbuhan, cenderung diet dengan keberagaman yang rendah (Dewey et al, 2020).…”

“…Edukasi mengenai nutrisi dan higiene yang terintegrasi dengan program bercocok tanam di rumah dan sekolah ditemukan dapat menurunkan prevalensi anemia, stunting, defisiensi nutrisi, dan infeksi (Gowele et al, 2021). Ditemukan bahwa konsumsi tinggi akan produk susu, sayuran, dan buah akan menurunkan angka kejadian stunting (Melaku et al, 2018).…”

Adequate Vitamin A Levels with Stunting Adolescents of Minangkabau Ethnicity in Indonesia: A Case-Control Study

“…Micronutrient insufficiency has an impact on linear growth as well [4]. The prevalence of Vitamin A the previous studies revealed a significant deficiency as a cause of stunting [5], [6]. Stunting can be influenced by a lack of Vitamin A in the diet [5].…”