Provision of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements does not improve intestinal health among rural Malawian children.
Zhifei LiuUlla AshornChilungamo ChingwandaKenneth MaletaLotta HallamaaAndrew MatchadoEmma KortekangasKathryn G DeweyPer AshornYue-Mei FanPublished in: Maternal & child nutrition (2022)
Lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) have been found to improve child growth and reduce child mortality. However, the mechanistic pathways for these improvements warrant exploration. One potential pathway is linked to improvement in intestinal health. Our study aimed to test a hypothesis that small-quantity LNS (SQ-LNS) could reduce the levels of intestinal inflammation, repair and permeability of children. As intestinal health markers we measured fecal calprotectin, regenerating 1B protein (REG1B) and alpha-1-antitrypsin concentrations at 18 months of age (after 12 months of supplementation) and 1 year later (12 months after cessation of supplementation). In this analysis, we included data of 735 children who participated in a randomised dietary supplementation trial in rural Malawi; 243 children who received 20 g/day SQ-LNS from 6 to 18 months of age were in the SQ-LNS group, while the others who received no dietary supplementation during this period were in the control group. At 18 months of age, the mean concentrations of calprotectin, REG1B and alpha-1-antitrypsin were 241, 105 µg/g and 7.1 mg/dl, respectively, in the SQ-LNS group, and 224, 105 µg/g and 7.4 mg/dl, respectively, in the control group, and did not differ between the SQ-LNS and control groups. We conclude that SQ-LNS provision did not have an impact on children's intestinal health in rural Malawi.
Keyphrases
- mental health
- healthcare
- public health
- young adults
- clinical trial
- south africa
- health information
- palliative care
- human health
- study protocol
- health promotion
- systemic lupus erythematosus
- climate change
- rheumatoid arthritis
- risk assessment
- open label
- small molecule
- machine learning
- electronic health record
- risk factors
- artificial intelligence