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Acute Malnutrition in Children Living in Low-Middle Income Countries and Marginized Populations

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2022) | Viewed by 14207

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Leonardo Palombi

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Guest Editor

Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”—Via Montpellier 1, 00173 Roma, Italy
Interests: epidemiology; aging; infectious diseases; HIV/AIDS; TB; public health programs in limited-resource countries; nutrition and public health; SARS-CoV-2

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Child malnutrition is still a public health priority and a worldwide major concern. Children affected by acute malnutrition are most exposed to a vicious cycle of infectious diseases and growth faltering. The prevalence of acute malnutrition is very worrying in low–middle-income countries, but it is also emerging in developed countries among unserved populations, with deep consequences for social development. In recent years, the number of children affected by acute malnutrition has been rising, due to the many risk factors associated with its development, from food insecurity to unbalanced eating behaviors. National health services and community-based programs taking care of these unserved populations already exist in the field and have proved their effectiveness. Networking with different stakeholders at all levels, including academia, is essential to achieve the target of zero hunger included in the Sustainable Agenda 2030.

The goal of this Special Issue is to focus on the global burden of acute malnutrition in low–middle-income countries, but also in unserved populations living in developed countries. We would like to focus on the multi-factors at the root level for child malnutrition, from food insecurity to eating habits, and from access to dietary diversity to health services.

Specifically, the aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the nutrition epidemiology of malnutrition in different areas of the world, identifying its risk factors and investigating national health services and community programs already implemented in the field to fight this public health concern. This information will provide more evidence-based results for improving the health and nutrition care of children, accelerating the process to hit the target of zero hunger, leaving no one behind.

Prof. Dr. Leonardo Palombi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM)
Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM)
Wasting
Growth faltering
Community-based programs
Low–middle-income countries
Unserved populations
Food insecurity
Eating behaviors
Food habits
Dietary diversity
Sustainable development Goal 2—Zero Hunger

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 268 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Examining the Dietary Diversity of Children in Niger

by Nafissatou Cisse Egbuonye, Ariun Ishdorj, E.L.J. McKyer and Rahma Mkuu

Nutrients 2021, 13(9), 2961; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13092961 - 26 Aug 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2767

Abstract

Malnutrition is a major public health concern in Niger. The stunting rate in children in Niger is over 50%, one of the highest in the world. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine children’s dietary diversity (CDD) and the maternal factors that impact CDD. A total of 1265 mother–child pairs were analyzed. Descriptive analysis was conducted to present maternal and child characteristics. To compare the mean scores of CDD in relation to the region, an independent sample t-test was conducted. A one-way ANOVA test was conducted to evaluate the CDD score by different age groups. A linear regression model was estimated to identify household, maternal and child factors that affect the CDD score. Our results indicate that most of the participants of our survey resided in rural areas and the majority (80.7%) of the mothers had no education. Factors such as region, children’s age, woman’s empowerment, vitamin A intake and wealth index were significant predictors of CDD (p < 0.05). The children residing in rural areas were more likely to have lower CDD scores (p < 0.05) than the children in urban areas, therefore becoming more susceptible to malnutrition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Malnutrition in Children Living in Low-Middle Income Countries and Marginized Populations)

13 pages, 1094 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Revisiting Konzo Risk Factors in Three Areas Differently Affected by Spastic Paraparesis in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo Discloses a Prominent Role of the Nutritional Status—A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

by Marius Baguma, Espoir Bwenge Malembaka, Esto Bahizire, Germain Zabaday Mudumbi, Dieudonné Bahati Shamamba, Alain-Narcisse Matabaro, Jean-Michel Rigo, Alfred Kongnyu Njamnshi and Joelle Nsimire Chabwine

Nutrients 2021, 13(8), 2628; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13082628 - 29 Jul 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2225

Abstract

This comparative cross-sectional study aimed to better understand the respective contributions of protein malnutrition and cassava-derived cyanide poisoning in the development of konzo. We compared data on nutritional status and cyanide exposure of school-age adolescent konzo-diseased patients to those of non-konzo subjects of similar age from three areas in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our results show that konzo patients had a high prevalence of both wasting (54.5%) and stunting (72.7%), as well as of cyanide poisoning (81.8%). Controls from Burhinyi and those from Idjwi showed a similar profile with a low prevalence of wasting (3.3% and 6.5%, respectively) and intermediate prevalence of stunting (26.7% and 23.9%, respectively). They both had a high prevalence of cyanide poisoning (50.0% and 63.0%, respectively), similar to konzo-patients. On the other hand, controls from Bukavu showed the lowest prevalence of both risk factors, namely chronic malnutrition (12.1%) and cyanide poisoning (27.6%). In conclusion, cassava-derived cyanide poisoning does not necessarily coexist with konzo outbreaks. The only factor differentiating konzo patients from healthy individuals exposed to cyanide poisoning appeared to be their worse nutritional status. This further suggests that, besides the known role of cyanide poisoning in the pathogenesis of konzo, malnutrition may be a key factor for the disease occurrence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Malnutrition in Children Living in Low-Middle Income Countries and Marginized Populations)

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16 pages, 904 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Malnutrition in Infants Aged under 6 Months Attending Community Health Centres: A Cross Sectional Survey

by Carlos S. Grijalva-Eternod, Emma Beaumont, Ritu Rana, Nahom Abate, Hatty Barthorp, Marie McGrath, Ayenew Negesse, Mubarek Abera, Alemseged Abdissa, Tsinuel Girma, Elizabeth Allen, Marko Kerac and Melkamu Berhane

Nutrients 2021, 13(8), 2489; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13082489 - 21 Jul 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3665

Abstract

A poor understanding of malnutrition burden is a common reason for not prioritizing the care of small and nutritionally at-risk infants aged under-six months (infants u6m). We aimed to estimate the anthropometric deficit prevalence in infants u6m attending health centres, using the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF), and to assess the overlap of different individual indicators. We undertook a two-week survey of all infants u6m visiting 18 health centres in two zones of the Oromia region, Ethiopia. We measured weight, length, and MUAC (mid-upper arm circumference) and calculated weight-for-length (WLZ), length-for-age (LAZ), and weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ). Overall, 21.7% (95% CI: 19.2; 24.3) of infants u6m presented CIAF, and of these, 10.7% (95% CI: 8.93; 12.7) had multiple anthropometric deficits. Low MUAC overlapped with 47.5% (95% CI: 38.0; 57.3), 43.8% (95% CI: 34.9; 53.1), and 42.6% (95% CI: 36.3; 49.2) of the stunted, wasted, and CIAF prevalence, respectively. Underweight overlapped with 63.4% (95% CI: 53.6; 72.2), 52.7% (95% CI: 43.4; 61.7), and 59.6% (95% CI: 53.1; 65.9) of the stunted, wasted, and CIAF prevalence, respectively. Anthropometric deficits, single and multiple, are prevalent in infants attending health centres. WAZ overlaps more with other forms of anthropometric deficits than MUAC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Malnutrition in Children Living in Low-Middle Income Countries and Marginized Populations)

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Review

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16 pages, 697 KiB

Open AccessReview

Household Food Insecurity, Dietary Diversity, and Stunting in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

by Goudja Gassara and Jihua Chen

Nutrients 2021, 13(12), 4401; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13124401 - 09 Dec 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4696

Abstract

Background: The significant public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa of household food insecurity is an underlying cause of malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to systematically study the association between household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and stunting. Methods: This review was carried out based on the recommendations of PRISMA (2015). We searched the literature in six bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus. The research was based on studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa about household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and stunting and was published between 2009 and 2020. Results: Out of 2398 original articles identified, only 21 articles met the specific requirements of this review. Two-thirds of the articles selected showed that stunting was linked to household food insecurity and dietary diversity. Conclusions: This study found that household food insecurity and dietary diversity are significantly associated with stunting in Sub-Saharan Africa. This review recommends that in order to yield a sustainable fight against childhood malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa, reliable guidelines and strategies are needed to address these factors related to malnutrition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Malnutrition in Children Living in Low-Middle Income Countries and Marginized Populations)

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