Pierre Traissac

Effect of daily iron supplementation on iron status, cell-mediated immunity, and incidence of infections in 6-36 month old Togolese children

Objective: To assess the impact of a daily oral iron supplementation on hematological status, cell-mediated immunity and susceptibility to infections in children living in an environment where iron deficiency, malaria and other infections are frequent.Design: Randomized, double-blind iron supplementation including a placebo group.Setting: A village in Togo, West Africa.Subjects: Of the 229 6–36-month-old children of both sexes recruited, 197 with hemoglobin concentration ≥80 g/l were included and 163 completed the study.Intervention: Children received daily a placebo (n=79) or a dose of 2–3 mg of elemental iron per kg of body weight (n=84) for 3 months. Hematological, nutritional and immune status were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the supplementation period, and 6 months later. Morbidity was recorded throughout the study.Results: Iron supplementation had a significant and positive effect on iron status of children and no impact on the incidence of infections, especially malaria. Its probable effect on immune status was masked by interference of infections and their treatment, which contributed to improve hematological and immune status in both groups.Conclusion: According to the negative consequences of anemia and iron deficiency on global child development, control of iron deficiency by oral iron supplementation in young children has to be conducted, associated with prophylaxis and treatment of malaria and repeated deworming.Sponsorship: Program supported by IRD.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 29–35

Economic crisis and malnutrition: socioeconomic determinants of anthropometric status of preschool children and their mothers in an African urban area

OBJECTIVE To assess the relative importance of socioeconomic and maternal/prenatal determinants of the nutritional situation of children < 6 years old in an urban African area after several years of economic crisis. DESIGN Cross-sectional cluster sample survey. SETTING Brazzaville, capital city of the Congo. SUBJECTS Information on socioeconomic characteristics was gathered from a random sample of 1368 households by house visits and anthropometric measurements were performed using standardized procedures on preschool children (n = 2373) and their mothers (n = 1512). RESULTS The influence of socioeconomic factors on the nutritional status of children, taking into account adjustment variables such as mothers age and childs age and sex was assessed. For stunting, as well as for the mean height-for-age index among children, the main determinants were economic level of the household (P = 0.048 and P = 0.004, respectively), schooling of the mother (P = 0.004 and P < 10(-3)) and living in the peripheral district (P = 0.005 and P < 10(-3)). The influence of socioeconomic determinants on weight-for-age and wasting was less straightforward. When adjusting, in addition, for maternal and prenatal factors (mothers height and body mass index (BMI) and birth weight), most of the effects of the socioeconomic determinants on the nutritional status of children persisted somewhat, but the effect of the economic level on the stunting became not significant (P = 0.11). The mean BMI of mothers appeared to be related to the economic level of the household (P < 10(-4)), to the marital status (P = 0.01) and to the occupation of the mother (P < 10(-4)). CONCLUSIONS Among the socioeconomic determinants of malnutrition in children, some, such as economic level of the household or schooling of the mother, seem to act mainly through prenatal factors, whereas others, mainly dwelling district characteristics, seem to influence more directly the childrens nutritional status.

Preschool stunting, age at menarche and adolescent height: a longitudinal study in rural Senegal

Objective: To study the impact of preschool stunting on adolescent height and age at menarche in rural West Africa.Design: A longitudinal, population-based study.Setting: The Niakhar study area in Central Senegal.Subjects: 1650 children aged 12–17 y with known height-for-age at the age of 2–5 y.Main outcome measures: Adolescent height; mean age at menarche of girls estimated by the status quo method.Results: The subjects were divided into three groups of preschool height-for-age: <−2, −2 to −1 and >−1 z-score of the NCHS reference. The mean height during adolescence differed significantly according to preschool height-for-age for both boys and girls (P<0.001). Relative risk of adolescent stunting according to preschool stunting varied from 2.0–4.0 depending on age and sex. Estimated mean age at menarche was 17.2 (95% fiducial confidence interval: 16.6–18.7), 16.5 (16.1–17.2) and 15.6 (15.2–16.0) y, respectively, for the three groups of preschool height-for-age (P<0.001). Mean increment from age 5 y to adolescence did not differ significantly among the boys according to preschool stunting, but among the girls aged 16–17 y, the increment was higher for those who had been stunted during preschool life (P<0.01).Conclusion: Some evidence of catch-up growth between the ages of 5 and 17 y was found for stunted girls. The significant delay in sexual maturation of the stunted girls suggests that stunted children of both sexes have a possibility of catch-up growth after the age of 17 y.Sponsorship: The preschool study was supported by the EEC (TSD-036).

Nutrition transition among adolescents of a south-Mediterranean country: dietary patterns, association with socio-economic factors, overweight and blood pressure. A cross-sectional study in Tunisia

BackgroundThe increase in the burden of chronic diseases linked to the nutrition transition and associated dietary and lifestyle changes is of growing concern in south and east Mediterranean countries and adolescents are at the forefront of these changes. This study assessed dietary intake and association with socio-economic factors and health outcomes among adolescents in Tunisia.MethodsCross-sectional survey (year 2005); 1019 subjects 15-19 y. from a clustered random sample. Dietary intake was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative frequency questionnaire (134 items) as was physical activity; the Diet Quality Index International measured diet quality; dietary patterns were derived by multiple correspondence analysis from intakes of 43 food groups. Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥85th and 95th percentile defined overweight and obesity. Waist Circumference (WC) assessed abdominal fat. High blood pressure was systolic (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90th of the international reference for 15-17 y., and SBP/DBP ≥120/80 mm Hg for 18-19 y.ResultsEnergy intake levels were quite high, especially for females. The macro-nutrient structure was close to recommendations but only 38% had a satisfactory diet quality. A main traditional to modern dietary gradient, linked to urbanisation and increased economic level, featured an increasing consumption of white bread, dairy products, sugars, added fats and fruits and decreasing consumption of oils, grains, legumes and vegetables; regarding nutrients this modern diet score featured a decreasing relationship with total fat and an increase of calcium intake, but with an increase of energy, sugars and saturated fat, while vitamin C, potassium and fibre decreased. Adjusted for age, energy and physical activity, this modern pattern was associated with increased overweight in males (2nd vs. 1st tertile: Prevalence Odds-Ratio (POR) = 4.0[1.7-9.3], 3rd vs. 1st: POR = 3.3[1.3-8.7]) and a higher WC. Adjusting also for BMI and WC, among females, it was associated with decreased prevalence of high blood pressure (2nd vs. 1st tertile: POR = 0.5[0.3-0.8], 3rd vs. 1st tertile: POR = 0.4[0.2-0.8]).ConclusionThe dietary intake contrasts among Tunisian adolescents, linked to socio-economic differentials are characteristic of a nutrition transition situation. The observed gradient of modernisation of dietary intake features associations with several nutrients involving a higher risk of chronic diseases but might have not only negative characteristics regarding health outcomes.

Weekly iron supplementation is as effective as 5 day per week iron supplementation in Bolivian school children living at high altitude

Objective: To compare the efficacy of a daily and a weekly iron supplementation on the hematological status of anemic children living at high altitude. Design: Double blind iron supplementation trial including a placebo control group. Setting: A socioeconomically disadvantaged district of La Paz, Bolivia (altitude of 4000 m). Subjects: Anemic (hemoglobin concentration≤144 g/L), 3.3–8.3 y old children of both sexes. Intervention: Children received a placebo (n=57) or a dose of 3–4 mg of elemental iron per kg body weight (FeSO4 tablets) 1 d per week (n=58) or 5 d per week (n=58) for 16 weeks. Results: Hemoglobin and zinc erythrocyte protoporphyrin concentrations improved significantly in supplemented groups but not in the placebo group. Changes in hemoglobin during the study were not significantly different between supplemented groups (weekly group: 15.2±6.9 g/L and daily group: 18.6±11.1 g/L) but were different from the placebo group (0.5±7.1 g/L, P<0.001). At the end of the supplementation period, the hemoglobin distribution was Gaussian, and similar in both supplemented groups. Adjusting for the initial hemoglobin concentration, final hemoglobin and its changes were similar in both supplemented groups. Conclusion: Weekly iron supplementation is as efficacious as daily iron supplementation in improving iron status and correcting moderate iron deficiency anemia in Bolivian school children living at high altitude. Sponsorship: Program supported in part by ORSTROM, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Secretarys Office of Health, Bolivia.

Deterioration in the nutritional status of young children and their mothers in Brazzaville, Congo, following the 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc

The effects of the January 1994 devaluation of the African Financial Community (CFA) franc on the nutritional situation of the populations concerned has been little documented. We report in this article on two nutritional cross-sectional surveys that were conducted before and after this devaluation (1993 and 1996) in two districts of Brazzaville, Congo. The surveys involved a representative sample of 4206 households with a child aged 4-23 months. Complementary feeding practices and the anthropometric indices of the children and their mothers were compared, adjusting for changes in household socioeconomic characteristics. The results show a decline in the quality of the first complementary foods offered to the infants, i.e. less frequent use of special transitional foods and imported complementary flours (of higher nutritional quality), and preparation of less nutritious local gruels. Overall, the nutritional situation had deteriorated, with greater levels of stunting and wasting among children, mothers with lower body mass index, and infants with reduced birth weights. Increased food prices would appear to be the direct cause of the decreased quality in complementary feeding, but factors other than the devaluation have also had an impact on household welfare. The influence of these factors on nutritional-status is discussed.

Abdominal vs. overall obesity among women in a nutrition transition context: geographic and socio-economic patterns of abdominal-only obesity in Tunisia

BackgroundMost assessments of the burden of obesity in nutrition transition contexts rely on body mass index (BMI) only, even though abdominal adiposity might be specifically predictive of adverse health outcomes. In Tunisia, a typical country of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where the burden of obesity is especially high among women, we compared female abdominal vs. overall obesity and its geographic and socio-economic cofactors, both at population and within-subject levels.MethodsThe cross-sectional study used a stratified, three-level, clustered sample of 35- to 70-year-old women (n = 2,964). Overall obesity was BMI = weight/height2 ≥ 30 kg/m2 and abdominal obesity waist circumference ≥ 88 cm. We quantified the burden of obesity for overall and abdominal obesity separately and their association with place of residence (urban/rural, the seven regions that compose Tunisia), plus physiological and socio-economic cofactors by logistic regression. We studied the within-subject concordance of the two obesities and estimated the prevalence of subject-level “abdominal-only” obesity (AO) and “overall-only” obesity (OO) and assessed relationships with the cofactors by multinomial logistic regression.ResultsAbdominal obesity was much more prevalent (60.4% [57.7-63.0]) than overall obesity (37.0% [34.5-39.6]), due to a high proportion of AO status (25.0% [22.8-27.1]), while the proportion of OO was small (1.6% [1.1-2.2]). We found mostly similar associations between abdominal and overall obesity and all the cofactors except that the regional variability of abdominal obesity was much larger than that of overall obesity. There were no adjusted associations of AO status with urban/rural area of residence (P = 0.21), education (P = 0.97) or household welfare level (P = 0.94) and only non-menopausal women (P = 0.093), lower parity women (P = 0.061) or worker/employees (P = 0.038) were somewhat less likely to be AO. However, there was a large residual adjusted regional variability of AO status (from 16.6% to 34.1%, adjusted P < 0.0001), possibly of genetic, epigenetic, or developmental origins.ConclusionMeasures of abdominal adiposity need to be included in population-level appraisals of the burden of obesity, especially among women in the MENA region. The causes of the highly prevalent abdominal-only obesity status among women require further investigation.

Measuring dietary diversity in rural Burkina Faso: comparison of a 1-day and a 3-day dietary recall

OBJECTIVES To compare dietary diversity scores measured over a 1-day and a 3-day period, and to assess their relationships with socio-economic characteristics and the nutritional status of rural African women. DESIGN A qualitative dietary recall allowed calculation of a dietary diversity score (DDS; number of food groups consumed out of a total of nine). Body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BFP) were used to assess the nutritional status of women. SETTING AND SUBJECTS A representative sample of 550 mothers in north-east Burkina Faso. RESULTS The DDS increased from 3.5 to 4.4 when calculated from a 1-day or a 3-day recall (P < 0.0001), although for the latter the DDS was affected by memory bias. The DDS calculated from a 1-day recall was higher when a market day occurred during the recall period. Both scores were linked to the sociodemographic and economic characteristics of the women. Women in the lowest DDS tertile calculated from the 1-day recall had a mean BMI of 20.5 kg m-(2) and 17.7% of them were underweight, versus 21.6 kg m (-2) and 3.5% for those in the highest tertile (P = 0.0003 and 0.0007, respectively). The DDS calculated from the 1-day recall was also linked to mean BFP; all these links remained significant after adjustment for confounders. For the 3-day period, no such relationships were found to be significant after adjustment. CONCLUSION The DDS calculated from a 1-day dietary recall was sufficient to predict the womens nutritional status. In such a context attention should be paid to market days.

Blood pressure and associated factors in a North African adolescent population. a national cross-sectional study in Tunisia.

BackgroundIn southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, changes in lifestyle and the increasing prevalence of excess weight in childhood are risk factors for high blood pressure (BP) during adolescence and adulthood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the BP status of Tunisian adolescents and to identify associated factors.MethodsA cross-sectional study in 2005, based on a national, stratified, random cluster sample of 1294 boys and 1576 girls aged 15-19 surveyed in home visits. The socio-economic and behavioral characteristics of the adolescents were recorded. Overweight/obesity were assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI) from measured height and weight (WHO, 2007), abdominal obesity by waist circumference (WC). BP was measured twice during the same visit. Elevated BP was systolic (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90th of the international reference or ≥ 120/80 mm Hg for 15-17 y., and SBP/DBP ≥ 120/80 mm Hg for 18-19 y.; hypertension was SBP/DBP ≥ 95th for 15-17 y. and ≥ 140/90 mm Hg for 18-19 y. Adjusted associations were assessed by logistic regression.ResultsThe prevalence of elevated BP was 35.1%[32.9-37.4]: higher among boys (46.1% vs. 33.3%; P < 0.0001); 4.7%[3.8-5.9] of adolescents had hypertension. Associations adjusted for all covariates showed independent relationships with BMI and WC: - obesity vs. no excess weight increased elevated BP (boys OR = 2.1[1.0-4.2], girls OR = 2.3[1.3-3.9]) and hypertension (boys OR = 3.5[1.4-8.9], girls OR = 5.4[2.2-13.4]), - abdominal obesity (WC) was also associated with elevated BP in both genders (for boys: 2nd vs. 1st tertile OR = 1.7[1.3-2.3], 3rd vs.1st tertile OR = 2.8[1.9-4.2]; for girls: 2nd vs. 1st tertile OR = 1.6[1.2-2.1], 3rd vs.1st tertile OR = 2.1[1.5-3.0]) but only among boys for hypertension. Associations with other covariates were weaker: for boys, hypertension increased somewhat with sedentary lifestyle, while elevated BP was slightly more prevalent among urban girls and those not attending school.ConclusionWithin the limits of BP measurement on one visit only, these results suggest that Tunisian adolescents of both genders are likely not spared from early elevated BP. Though further assessment is likely needed, the strong association with overweight/obesity observed suggests that interventions aimed at changing lifestyles to reduce this main risk factor may also be appropriate for the prevention of elevated BP.

Nutritional status of Tunisian adolescents: associated gender, environmental and socio-economic factors

OBJECTIVE To assess the nutritional status of Tunisian adolescents and associated factors. DESIGN A cross-sectional study based on a national stratified random cluster sample. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In all, 1,295 boys and 1,577 girls aged 15-19 years, of whom 28.4 % had already left school. Socio-economic characteristics of the parents, anthropometric measurements, food behaviours and physical activity of the adolescents were recorded during home visits. RESULTS Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity (WHO/National Center for Health Statistics reference) were, respectively, 8.1 %, 17.4 % and 4.1 % among boys and 1.3 %, 20.7 % and 4.4 % among girls; abdominal obesity was highly prevalent among both sexes. Prevalence of overweight differed by region (from 11.5 % to 22.2 %) and was higher in urban v. rural areas for males (21.7 % v. 10.4 %) but not for females (21.7 % v. 19.2 %). These differences were partially mediated by socio-economic and lifestyle factors for males. For females, influence of cultural factors is hypothesised. In rural areas, overweight was more prevalent among boys of higher economic level households, having a working mother or a sedentary lifestyle; for girls, prevalence increased with the level of education of the mother. In urban areas, prevalence of overweight was related to eating habits: it was higher for boys with irregular snacking habits and for girls skipping daily meals. Urban girls having left school were also more overweight. CONCLUSION Overweight and abdominal obesity in late adolescence have become a true public health problem in Tunisia with the combined effects of cultural tradition for girls in rural areas, and of rapid economic development for boys and girls in cities.