Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years remains high in Cambodia, affecting about one‐third of children. In most low‐ and middle‐income countries, linear growth faltering of young children starts in the womb. The 1,000‐days window of opportunity to improve child nutritional status includes pregnancy, as maternal nutritional status is an important determinant of birthweight and child development. In Cambodia, nutritional status of pregnant women is poor, with some studies reporting >20% of pregnant women having a low mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC < 23 cm). Few studies have investigated associations between maternal nutritional status during pregnancy and neonatal growth. Using data from a Cambodian cohort study conducted from 2016 through 2018 in selected districts of Phnom Penh, Kratie, and Ratanakiri provinces, we investigated associations between maternal MUAC during pregnancy as indicator of maternal nutritional status and their offspring linear growth during early life. Multivariate regression models were used to assess the associations between maternal MUAC during the last trimester of pregnancy and infant's length‐for‐age z‐scores during the first 3.5 months of life. Maternal MUAC was significantly associated with infant's length‐for‐age z‐scores (regression coefficient 0.06, 95% CI [0.03, 0.09]). Infants born from mothers with a low MUAC during pregnancy had a 1.6 times higher risk (odds ratio 1.621, 95% CI [0.998, 2.636]) of being stunted during the first 3.5 months of life compared with infants born from mothers with a MUAC >23 cm. This study underlines the importance of optimum maternal MUAC during pregnancy for optimal infant growth. Interventions that aim to tackle stunting in infants should integrate improving maternal MUAC during pregnancy.

Tenofovir-based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is one of the preferred first-line therapies in the management of HIV 1 infection. Ghana has since 2014 adopted this recommendation; however there is paucity of scientific data that reflects the safety and efficacy of the tenofovir-based therapy compared to zidovudine in the Ghanaian health system. This study sought to assess the comparative immune reconstitution potential between tenofovir and zidovudine-based HAART regimens, which includes lamivudine and efavirenz in combination therapy. It also aimed to investigate the adverse drug reactions/events (ADREs) associated with pharmacotherapy with these agents in a total of 106 HAART naïve HIV patients. The study included 80 patients in the tenofovir cohort while 26 patients were on the zidovudine regimen. The occurrence of HIV comorbidities profile was assessed at diagnosis and throughout the study period. The baseline CD4 T cells count of the participants was also assessed at diagnosis and repeated at a median period of five months (range 4–6 months), after commencing treatment with either tenofovir- or zidovudine-based HAART. After five months of the HAART, the tenofovir cohort recorded higher CD4 T cell count change from baseline compared to the zidovudine cohort (p < 0.0001). The patients on the tenofovir-based HAART and female sex however appeared to be associated with more multiple ADREs.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to identify the predictors of child undernutrition and anemia among children 6–24 months old in the East Mamprusi district, Northern region, Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study recruited 153 children and their mothers. Weight, height and hemoglobin levels of the children were measured. A structured questionnaire based on the World Health Organization's indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices was used to collect data on parents' socioeconomic status, household characteristics, hygiene and sanitation practices, mothers' knowledge on feeding practices such as child's meal frequency and dietary diversity and child morbidity within the past two weeks. Predictors of child nutritional status were determined using multinomial logistic regression analysis.FindingsUnderweight in the children was significantly predicted by maternal knowledge on protein foods (AOR = 0.045, p = 0.008), time of initiation of complementary feeding (AOR = 0.222, p = 0.032) and maternal age (AOR = 9.455, p = 0.017). Feeding child from separate bowls (AOR = 0.239, p = 0.005), minimum meal frequency per child's age (AOR = 0.189, p = 0.007) and time of initiation of complementary feeding (AOR = 0.144, p = 0.009) were significant determinants of stunting among the children. Exclusive breast feeding (AOR = 7.975, p = 0.012) and child's past morbidity (AOR = 0.014, p = 0.001) significantly contributed to anemia among the children.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a cross-sectional study and cannot establish causality. The small sample size also limits the generalizability of study findings. However, findings of the study highlight factors which could potentially influence the high rate of child undernutrition in the study setting.Practical implicationsThis study identifies determinants of undernutrition in the East Mamprusi district, an underresourced area in Ghana. This information could inform the development/reformulation of locally sensitive key messages and targeted intervention strategies to curb the high levels of child undernutrition in the East Mamprusi district of Ghana.Originality/valueThis study identifies maternal care practices as key potential drivers of undernutrition in a low-resource setting known for high prevalence of child undernutrition. It suggests insight for large-scale studies on the predictors of child undernutrition in Northern Ghana and other resource-poor settings.

Physical fitness is thought to promote cognitive function. Evidence about this is however lacking in the Ghanaian context. This study aimed to investigate the association between physical fitness and cognitive function among basic school children aged 8–13 years. A cross-sectional study involving 591 school children, recruited from 12 randomly selected public and private basic schools was conducted. Physical fitness tests were done using a five-test battery (Fifty metre run, handgrip strength, sit-up, flexibility and standing board jump) following standardized procedures. Cognitive function test using the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) were carried out. More girls (55%), children from 8-13 years old (49.1%) and public school children (66.1%) participated in the study. For fitness, boys performed better than girls in sit ups 3.4 ± 2.2 (mean ± SD), p = 0.012, handgrip 4.3 ± 2.0, p = 0.001 and overall fitness 4.3 ± 2.0, p = 0.007. Children in public schools performed significantly better in forward jump (p < 0.001) while those in private schools did better in 50m run (p < 0.001). For cognition, 46.1% of participants had less than 50% of the total score. Cognitive test score varied for forward jump and handgrip alone and not for sit ups, 50m run and overall score. Mean forward jump score was lowest in poor cognition group (4.9 ± 2.3), followed by good (5.3 ± 2.2) and highest among excellent (5.5 ± 2.3, p = 0.044) cognition group. Similar observation was made for handgrip. Cognition score and hand grip strength were positively but weakly correlated. (r = 0.132, p = 0.026). Although handgrip strength (measuring muscular strength) was significantly associated with cognitive function, this study found no significant association between overall physical fitness and cognitive function. These results indicate that only some components of physical fitness may be associated with cognitive function. This study is however correlational and one cannot infer causality.

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