Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Examination of Host Phenotypes in Gambusia affinis Following Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: February 22, 2017
Less diarrhoea but no change in growth: 15 years' data from three Gambian villages
E M Poskitt1, T J Cole, R G Whitehead
1MRC Dunn Nutrition Group, Keneba, Banjul, The Gambia.
Insights
Diarrhoea presentations in young Gambian children decreased significantly over 15 years. However, this reduction did not lead to improvements in their growth or nutritional status.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Global Health
Background:
- Diarrhoea is a major cause of childhood illness and malnutrition in developing countries.
- Previous hypotheses suggested that reducing diarrhoea prevalence would improve child growth.
- Longitudinal data are crucial for understanding the impact of disease reduction on nutritional outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the relationship between declining diarrhoea incidence and nutritional status in rural Gambian children.
- To test the hypothesis that reduced diarrhoea prevalence leads to improved child growth and reduced malnutrition.
- To analyze 15 years of data on diarrhoea and child development.
Main Methods:
- Routine documentation of growth and morbidity in 1190 children under two years old.
- Data collected at the Dunn Nutrition Group clinic in Keneba, The Gambia.
- Study period spanned from 1979 to 1993.
Main Results:
- Diarrhoea presentations decreased from 1069 (30% of attendees) in 1979 to 220 (8% of attendees) in 1993.
- Mean weight and length Z-scores at 1 and 2 years of age showed no significant improvement over the 15-year period.
- Despite a marked decline in diarrhoea, child nutritional status remained unchanged.
Conclusions:
- Significant reductions in clinic diarrhoea presentations were not associated with improved nutritional status in young rural Gambian children.
- The study challenges the direct link between reduced diarrhoea prevalence and enhanced child growth in this specific population.
- Further research is needed to identify factors influencing nutritional status beyond diarrhoea reduction.
Aims:
To review diarrhoea presentations and nutritional status in young rural Gambian children over a 15 year period as a test of an earlier hypothesis that reduced diarrhoea prevalence would lead to improved growth and a reduced prevalence of malnutrition.
Subjects And Methods:
Growth and morbidity were documented routinely in 1190 children under 2 years of age attending the Dunn Nutrition Group clinic at Keneba between 1979 and 1993.
Results:
The numbers of presentations with diarrhoea (1069 in 1979; 220 in 1993) and the proportion of clinic attendees with diarrhoea (30% in 1979; 8% in 1993) fell steadily between 1979 and 1993. However, at both 1 year old, mean weights (Z scores: 1979, -1.8; 1993, -1.8) and mean lengths (Z scores: 1979, -1.3; 1993, -1.7), and at 2 years old, mean weights (Z scores: 1979, -2.0; 1993, -1.9) and mean lengths (Z scores: 1979, -2.0; 1993, -2.1) did not change noticeably over the 15 year period.
Conclusion:
Major progressive reductions in clinic presentations with diarrhoea have not been associated with improved nutritional status in this population of young rural Gambian children.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:18Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Antimicrobials as Antidiarrheal Agents
01:30Development of Human Microbiota
01:12Giardiasis