Physical growth and neurointegrative performance of survivors of protein–energy malnutrition

Abstract

I.The anthropometric measurements and neurointegrative performance of seventy-nine children aged 6-12 years who had survived kwashiorkor in early childhood were compared to those of 142 children who served as controls.2. For the boys the differences in height and weight between those who had survived protein-energy malnutrition @EM) and the controls were significant (P < 0.01).3. For the girls the differences in height and weight between those who had survived PEM and the controls were not significant.4. In the tests chosen, the performances of the survivors of PEM was significantly poorer than that of the controls. 5.There was no improvement in the performance when thirteen survivors were reassessed at 10 years of age.6. There was a significant difference in scholastic performance between the survivors of PEM and the normal controls. The scholastic performance of the siblings of PEM survivors was also significantly better than that of the PEM survivors. The following studies were undertaken to document the effects of severe forms of oedematous malnutrition as seen in children in southern India, on their later development and scholastic performance. M A T E R I A L S A N D METHODSThe subjects of the study were children who had survived PEM. All of them had been admitted to the Nutrition Research Unit with the clinical and biochemical features of kwashiorkor or marasmic kwashiorkor (Gopalan & Ramalingaswami, 1955 ;Webb et al. 1963; Lancet, 1971). They were discharged on recovery, judged by disappearance of oedema, regeneration of serum albumin and satisfactory weight gain. Criteria for selection for the present study were: (a) residence within a radius of 20-25 miles from the hospital and (b) age between 6-12 years. One hundred and thirty children of a total of 641 children with PEM who were treated between 1962 and 1972 satisfied the criteria.The children were identified by visits to their homes and, with the permission of their parents, participated in the study. Their heights and weights were recorded and details of socio-economic status and scholastic performance of the children and their siblings obtained. The subjects' dietary intake was also obtained by questionnaire (Pasricha, 1959). The tests of intellectual ability and neurointegration were given in the Nutrition Research Unit. In a small number of children the performance in the tests was reassessed when they were over 10 years of age. The performance of ten siblings of the survivors was also recorded.

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Children and famine: long‐term impact on development

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Review of the evidence linking protein and energy to mental development

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