Preschool Stunting, Adolescent Migration, Catch-Up Growth, and Adult Height in Young Senegalese Men and Women of Rural Origin

Abstract

Available data on the long-term consequences of preschool stunting are scarce and conflicting. The objective of this study was to assess the amount of catch-up growth from preschool stunting and the effect of migration (change in environment) during adolescence. A cohort study from preschool age (1-5 y) to adulthood (18-23 y) was conducted among 2874 subjects born in a rural area of Senegal. The subjects were divided into 3 groups of preschool stunting: none, mild, and marked, with height-for-age Z-scores of >-1, -2 to -1, and <-2, respectively. At follow-up, the history of migration was recalled. Mean height was 161.3 cm for girls and 174.0 cm for boys (>/=20 y). Stunted subjects remained smaller than the others: the age-adjusted height deficit between the 2 extreme categories was 6.6 and 9.0 cm in girls and boys, respectively. However, their height increment from early childhood to adulthood differed (69.3, 70.5, and 72.0 cm, P = 0.0001, and 78.9, 80.0, and 80.3 cm, P < 0.01, for nonstunted, mildly stunted, and markedly stunted girls and boys, respectively). The duration of labor migration to the city was associated with height increment in girls only in a nonlinear relation (adjusted means: 67.2, 69.3, 67.4, and 67.7 cm for 4 groups of increasing duration, P < 0.01). In conclusion, Senegalese children caught up in height prior to adulthood, with the adult means approximately 2 cm below the WHO/NCHS reference. However, this global catch up did not reduce height differences between formerly stunted and nonstunted children to any greater extent and it was not enhanced by labor migration.

Impact of Polyparasitic Infections on Anemia and Undernutrition among Kenyan Children Living in a Schistosoma haematobium-Endemic Area

“…10 We believe that these effects can be reversed if adequate treatment is in place, particularly if it is associated with decreased risk for reinfection, 37 because children have a limited window for growth rebound (catch-up growth) before reaching puberty that would allow them to achieve normal or nearly normal adult physical growth parameters if they remain free from infection. 17,37,52 The high prevalence of anemia and malnutrition in our villages and the associations found between single or multiparasite infections and childhood morbidity suggest a serious need for integrated parasite control efforts. The reversibility of the morbidity outcomes presented here will only be determined with adequate antiparasitic treatment delivered through committed, integrated control programs that are, to date, still absent from this area.…”

Long-term consequences of adolescent fertility: The Colombian case

“…Child malnutrition effects are permanent. Even young children who improve nutritional conditions later in life fail to catch up at older ages (Malcolm 1970;Habicht et al 1974;Coly et al 2006;Victora et al 2008).…”

“…11 International WHO growth charts for girls' height: http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/en/ Kulin et al 1982;Morgane et al 1993;Fogel 1994). Moreover, such effects are permanent, and cannot be counteracted even if children improve their nutritional intake later in life (Malcolm 1970;Habicht et al 1974;Coly et al 2006;Victora et al 2008). Therefore, malnutrition and lower heights are more common in low-income households that fail to provide a good nutritional intake from rich and balanced diets (Behrman and Hoddinot 2001;Alderman et al 2006), and height has proven to be a good proxy for socio-economic status in micro-data (Meisel and Vega 2006;Fogel 2000;1997).…”

“…Height, in adulthood, is a good proxy for paternal household's socio-economic level, as argued by several authors in the demographic, economic (Fogel et al 1982;Behrman and Hoddinot 2001;Alderman et al 2006;Hatton 2013), and medical literature (Adair et al 2013;Bhutta 2013;Brozek et al 1977;Kulin et al 1982;Morgane et al 1993;Malcolm 1970;Habicht et al 1974;Coly et al 2006;Victora et al 2008), because an adult's height directly relates to nutritional intake during childhood. Thus, in both developed and developing countries, poorer households provide worse nutrition to their children than richer households, producing shorter adults.…”

El Niño adversely affected childhood stature and lean mass in northern Peru

“…Stunting occurs in early childhood as a result of undernutrition, a high burden of infectious diseases, or both [18]. In developing countries, height deficits incurred early in life generally persist through childhood and even adulthood [19,20] and have been linked to other developmental problems including delayed motor [21] and locomotion skills [22], cognitive impairment [23], delayed school enrollment [24] and poor school performance [25], lower adult productivity [26], and higher risk pregnancies and deliveries.…”