Comparative analysis of developmental profile between normal and severe acute malnourished under-five children in
Javeria Saleem1, Rubeena Zakar1, Faisal Mushtaq2
1Department of Public Health, Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Insights
Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) face significant developmental delays. Factors like lack of maternal education and more young siblings increase risks for developmental disabilities in under-five children.
Area of Science:
- Child Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a critical global health issue affecting child development.
- Developmental disabilities in under-five children are often linked to nutritional status and socioeconomic factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the developmental profiles of children with SAM versus healthy children.
- To identify sociodemographic determinants contributing to developmental disabilities in under-five children.
Main Methods:
- A multi-centre cross-sectional study involving 200 children aged 6-59 months in Pakistan.
- Nutritional status, clinical complications, and developmental assessments using the Denver Development Screening Tool II were conducted.
- Sociodemographic data were collected via a pretested structured questionnaire.
Main Results:
- Children with SAM exhibited significantly poorer anthropometric measurements compared to normal children.
- SAM was a significant risk factor for delays in personal/social, fine motor, language, gross motor, and global development.
- Logistic regression identified under-five siblings as a risk for personal/social and language development, and maternal education for gross motor development.
Conclusions:
- Malnourished children demonstrate a high prevalence of developmental delays.
- Maternal educational status and the number of under-five siblings are significant risk factors for developmental delay.
Objectives:
This study aims to compare the developmental profile of severe acute malnourished (SAM) and normal under-five children and to find sociodemographic determinants accountable for their developmental disabilities.
Setting:
We conducted a multi-centre cross-sectional study in three basic health units and one rural health centre in Pakistan.
Participants:
200 children (SAM and healthy) aged 6-59 months.
Primary And Secondary Measures:
We screened for nutritional status and clinical complications. Children underwent for developmental assessment by Denver Development Screening Tool II. A pretested structured questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics and nutrition was used for collecting data about determinants of developmental delay.
Results:
We observed statistically significant differences in anthropometric measurements among SAM compared with normal nourished in weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference and weight-for-height z-scores. SAM serves as a significant risk factors (p<0.001) for delayed personal or social development (69% vs 11%; OR (95% CI)=18.01 (8.45 to 38.37)), delayed fine motor development (39% vs 8%; OR (95% CI)=7.35 (3.22 to 16.81)), delayed language development (32% vs 8%; OR (95% CI)=5.41 (2.35 to 12.48)), delayed gross motor development (34% vs 10%; OR (95% CI)=4.64 (2.14 to 10.05)) and delayed global development (66% vs 20%; OR (95% CI)=7.77 (4.09 to 14.74)). Applying logistic regression, personal or social development (p<0.001) and language development (p<0.05), under-five siblings was a risk factor, while among gross motor development, mother's educational status (p<0.05) was a significant risk factor for developmental delay.
Conclusions:
Our analysis indicates that children with malnutrition have a high frequency of developmental delays. Missing maternal education and a higher number of under-five siblings are also potential risk factors for developmental delay.
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