Micronutrient intake and prevalence of micronutrient inadequacy among women (15-49 y) and children (6-59 mo) in South Kivu and Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Abstract

Iron biofortified beans and carotenoid enriched cassava are proposed as a solution to combat iron and vitamin A deficiencies, respectively, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). To inform the need for biofortified foods, we conducted a survey in 2014 in two provinces of the DRC, South Kivu and Kongo Central. Unexpectedly, women of reproductive age (WRA; 15-49 y) and their children (6-59 m) had a low prevalence of biochemical iron and vitamin A deficiency, based on ferritin and retinol binding protein, respectively. To better understand the lack of biochemical deficiency of these nutrients, we examined the prevalence of inadequate intake for these and other select nutrients. Dietary intake was assessed using 24-hour recalls among 744 mother-child dyads. Repeat recalls on a non-consecutive day were conducted with a subsample of the study population to account for intra-individual variation and estimate usual intake. In WRA, the prevalence of inadequate iron intakes were 33% and 29% in South Kivu and Kongo Central, respecitvely. The prevalence of inadequate vitamin A intakes among WRA was low in South Kivu (18%) and negligible in Kongo Central (1%). Iron inadequacy was highest in infants (6-11 m) at 82% and 64% in South Kivu and

A review of the dietary diversity and micronutrient adequacy among the women of reproductive age in low‐ and middle‐income countries

“…The intake of daily dietary iron by the women in LMICs (3.8–36.0 mg) was above the daily EAR of 15 mg. The studies in Ethiopia (36.0 mg) (Asayehu et al., 2017 ), Vietnam (15.5 mg) (Nguyen et al., 2014 ), Congo (18.8–20.3 mg) (Moumin et al., 2020 ), Nigeria (16.8 mg) (De Moura et al., 2015 ), and India (22.3 mg) (Loukrakpam et al., 2020 ) indicated that dietary iron intake was satisfactory compared to the EAR. On the other hand, studies in Lebanon (8.0 mg) (Abou‐Rizk et al., 2021 ), India (7.39 mg) (Nunn et al., 2019 ), Zambia (7.39 mg) (Kaliwile et al., 2019 ), and South Africa (3.8 mg) (Oldewage‐Theron & Kruger, 2011 ), and Bangladesh (6.72–11.63 mg) (Akter et al., 2021 ; Arsenault et al., 2013 ; M. H. Islam et al., 2021 ; Sultana et al., 2019 ) showed lower intake of iron than the recommended EAR.…”

“…Per day intake of vitamin A by WRA in LMICs was 63.61–2441 μg. Although the consumption of vitamin A was inadequate in most of the studies as compared to the EAR (390 μg), the studies in Vietnam (783 μg) (Nguyen et al., 2014 ), Congo (757–1109 μg) (Moumin et al., 2020 ), Ethiopia (2037.9 μg) (Asayehu et al., 2017 ), and Nigeria (2441 μg) (De Moura et al., 2015 ) showed adequate intake of vitamin A among the WRA.…”

Distribution and Determinants of Serum Zinc, Copper, and Selenium Levels among Children under Five Years from Popokabaka, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The serum was collected from 412 children aged 1–5 years. The boy/girl ratio was 1:1, and their median (P25–P75) age was 32 [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ] months. Table 1 shows the general characteristics of the children included in this study.…”

“…However, our observations in Popokabaka (Kwango Province) seem to be more severe than the ones from the Kongo Central and south Kivu provinces in DRC (25–29%), as reported by Harvey-Leeson in 2016 [ 21 ]. This remarkable difference could be explained by the difference in dietary habits and the better food availability and diversity observed in the Kongo Central and south Kivu regions than in Popokabaka [ 32 ]. For instance, communities in the Kivu province are pastoral, commonly practice livestock, and have great accessibility to meat, beans, and potatoes, which are culturally accepted as staple foods.…”

Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Anemia Status of Lactating Mothers in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo—A Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…In South Kivu, studies reported an anemia prevalence of 16.5–17.6% in pregnant and non-pregnant women of reproductive age (DHS: 22.7%) and 47.8–58.6% in children aged 6–23 months (DHS: 35.7% in children 6–59 months) [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Also, in South Kivu, Moumin et al [ 12 ] found a moderate prevalence of inadequate vitamin A (18%) and iron intake (33%) among women of reproductive age, and moderate to high inadequacy of further nutrients such as folate or zinc. Despite this evidence on poor diet in the region, to our knowledge, evidence on the determinants of dietary practices such as nutritional knowledge and attitudes, and their potential relationship with anemia status is scarce, especially for lactating women.…”