Aim: To compare growth patterns between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected and ‐uninfected preschool children. To examine the associations between diarrheal and respiratory infections, sociodemographic factors and growth. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted among 524 children who were 6‐60 mo of age at recruitment. Information on sociodemographic characteristics was collected at baseline from the caregiver. Hemoglobin, malaria infection and HIV status of the children were assessed from a blood sample. Monthly height (length if >24 mo) and weight measurements were obtained, and clinical assessments carried out, during an average 12 mo follow‐up period. Yearly increments in height and weight were compared by HIV status, incidence of diarrhea and respiratory infections, and levels of sociodemographic variables. Results: After adjusting for maternal education, anemia and vitamin A supplementation, HIV infection was related to 2.8 cm [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.6, 5.0] and 1.3 kg (95% CI 0.0, 2.5) lower yearly length and weight gains, respectively, in children who were between 6 and 11 mo old at baseline. Among children who were 12‐23 mo old at recruitment, HIV infection was associated with 0.6 kg (95% CI 0.1, 1.0) less yearly weight gain. HIV infection was not related to linear or ponderal growth in children ≤24 mo old. Maternal illiteracy, severe child anemia and episodes of acute diarrhea were additional risk factors for growth delay in length. Conclusion: HIV infection is associated with linear and ponderal growth retardation in children aged >24 mo. Additional predictors of linear growth retardation include preventable conditions such as poor maternal education, child anemia and diarrheal disease.

The object of the study was to assess the nutritional status of children 0-5 years, who were attending maternal and child health clinics in Basrah city, 6 months after the cessation of the Gulf War, and took the form of a cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of 723 children, the majority of whom were between 0 and 36 months of age, attending maternal and child health clinics (MCHC) in Basrah city for routine immunizations. Each MCHC was visited on a separate day and all children attending on that day were included in the study. A proportion (8 per cent) of the study population were wasted, most of them in the 12-24-month age category. Twenty-four per cent of the children were stunted. Stunting and low weight-for-age were significantly higher among children of low socio-economic households. Comparison of these data with an earlier nutritional survey in the area showed that the nutritional status of children in Basrah city has deteriorated as a result of successive armed conflicts. There is need to monitor the health and nutritional status of children, and take appropriate action in order to protect them.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the association between pre-existing vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and incident TB. We assessed the impact of baseline vitamin D on TB risk. Methods:We assessed the association between baseline vitamin D and incident TB in a prospective cohort of 6751 household contacts of TB patients in Peru. We also conducted a one-stage individual participant data meta-analysis searching PubMed and Embase for studies of vitamin D and TB until December 31, 2017. We included studies that assessed vitamin D before TB diagnosis. We defined VDD as 25-(OH)D <50 nmol/L, insufficiency as 50-75 nmol/L and sufficiency as >75nmol/L. We estimated the association between vitamin D and incident TB using conditional logistic regression in the Peru cohort and generalized linear mixed models in the meta-analysis. Findings:In Peru, baseline VDD was associated with a statistically insignificant increase in incident TB (aOR 1·70, 95% CI 0·84-3·46; p=0·14). We identified seven studies for the meta-analysis and analyzed 3544 participants. Individuals with VDD and very low vitamin D (<25nmol/L) had increased TB risk (aOR 1·48, 95% CI 1·04-2·10; p=0·03 and aOR 2·08, 95% CI 0·88-4·92; p trend=0·02 respectively). Among HIV-positive patients, VDD and very low vitamin D conferred a 2-fold (aOR 2.18, 95% CI 1·22-3·90; p=0·01) and 4-fold (aOR 4·28, 95% CI 0·85-21·44; p trend=0·01) increased risk of TB respectively.Interpretation: Our findings suggest vitamin D predicts TB risk in a dose-dependent manner and vitamin D supplementation may play a role in TB prevention. Evidence before this studyNumerous studies have found lower serum vitamin D levels among patients with active TB disease compared to healthy controls. However, research has not clarified whether low vitamin D increases TB risk or whether TB disease leads to decreased vitamin D levels. We conducted PubMed and Medline searches for all studies available through December 31, 2017 on the association between vitamin D status and TB disease. We included the following keywords: "vitamin D," "vitamin D deficiency," "hypovitaminosis D," "25-hydroxyvitamin D," "1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D," "vitamin D2," "vitamin D3," "ergocalciferol," "cholecalciferol," and "tuberculosis." We found only seven studies had prospectively evaluated the impact of baseline vitamin D levels on risk of progression to TB disease.We report here the results of a case control study nested within a large prospective longitudinal cohort study of household contacts of TB cases and the results of an individual participant data (IPD) metaanalysis of available evidence on the association between vitamin D levels and incident TB disease. Added value of this studyWe demonstrated that low vitamin D levels predicts risk of future progression to TB disease in a dosedependent manner. Implications of all the available evidenceThese findings suggest the possibility that vitamin D supplementation among individuals at high risk for developing TB disease might play a role in TB prevention efforts.

Background Appropriate gestational weight gain (GWG) is important for optimal pregnancy outcomes. This study prospectively evaluated the associations between GWG during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes in an urban Tanzanian pregnancy cohort. Methods We used data from a randomized clinical trial conducted among pregnant women recruited by 27 weeks of gestation in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (N = 1,230). Women’s gestational weight was measured at baseline and at monthly antenatal visits. Weekly GWG rate during the second and third trimesters was calculated and characterized as inadequate, adequate, or excessive, in conjunction with measured or imputed early-pregnancy BMI status according to the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) GWG guidelines. We used multivariable Poisson regression with a sandwich variance estimator to calculate risk ratios (RR) for associations of GWG with low birth weight, preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), and large for gestational age (LGA). Degree of appropriate GWG defined using additional metrics (i.e., percentage of adequacy, z-score) and potential effect modification by maternal BMI were additionally evaluated. Results According to the IOM guidelines, 517 (42.0%), 270 (22.0%), and 443 (36.0%) women were characterized as having inadequate, adequate, and excessive GWG, respectively. Overall, compared to women with adequate GWG, women with inadequate GWG had a lower risk of LGA births (RR=0.54, 95% CI: 0.36 - 0.80) and a higher risk of SGA births (RR=1.32, 95% CI: 0.95 - 1.81). ­­Women with inadequate GWG as defined by percentage of GWG adequacy had a higher risk of LBW (OR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.03 - 3.63). In stratified analyses by early-pregnancy BMI, excessive GWG among women with normal BMI was associated with a higher risk of preterm birth (RR=1.59, 95% CI: 1.03 - 2.44). Conclusions A comparatively high percentage of excessive GWG was observed among healthy pregnant women in Tanzania. Both inadequate and excessive GWGs were associated with elevated risks of poor pregnancy outcomes. Future studies among diverse SSA populations are warranted to confirm our findings, and clinical recommendations on optimal GWG should be developed to promote healthy GWG in SSA settings. Trial registration This trial was registered as “Prenatal Iron Supplements: Safety and Efficacy in Tanzania” (NCT01119612; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01119612).