Stunting, severe malnutrition and mental development in young children

The association was examined between an episode of severe malnutrition, stunting in length and children's developmental levels. Twenty-nine children aged between 6 and 24 months, who had recently recovered from severe malnutrition, were compared with 29 children matched for age and height who had never had an acute episode, and who came from similar social backgrounds. Both groups were given developmental assessments on the Griffiths Test, and their developmental quotients (DQs) were not significantly different. Both groups' DQs were significantly lower than a third group of 15 non-stunted children. It was concluded that the poor developmental levels usually found in severely malnourished children may be largely explained by factors associated with stunting, rather than the acute episode.