Effects of lipid-based nutrient supplements and infant and young child feeding counseling with or without improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) on anemia and micronutrient status: results from 2 cluster-randomized trials in Kenya and Bangladesh

Abstract

BackgroundAnemia in young children is a global health problem. Risk factors include poor nutrient intake and poor water quality, sanitation, or hygiene.ObjectiveWe evaluated the effects of water quality, sanitation, handwashing, and nutrition interventions on micronutrient status and anemia among children in rural Kenya and Bangladesh.DesignWe nested substudies within 2 cluster-randomized controlled trials enrolling pregnant women and following their children for 2 y. These substudies included 4 groups: water, sanitation, and handwashing (WSH); nutrition (N), including lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs; ages 6–24 mo) and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) counseling; WSH+N; and control. Hemoglobin and micronutrient biomarkers were measured after 2 y of intervention and compared between groups using generalized linear models with robust SEs.ResultsIn Kenya, 699 children were assessed at a mean ± SD age of 22.1 ± 1.8 mo, and in Bangladesh 1470 participants were measured at a mean ± SD age of 28.0 ± 1.9 mo. The control group anemia prevalences were 48.8% in Kenya and 17.4% in Bangladesh. There was a lower prevalence of anemia in the 2 N intervention groups in both Kenya [N: 36.2%; prevalence ratio (PR): 0.74; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.94; WSH+N: 27.3%; PR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.75] and Bangladesh (N: 8.7%; PR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.78; WSH+N: 7.9%, PR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.73). In both trials, the 2 N groups also had significantly lower prevalences of iron deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, and low vitamin B-12 and, in Kenya, a lower prevalence of folate and vitamin A deficiencies. In Bangladesh, the WSH group had a lower prevalence of anemia (12.8%; PR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.54, 1.00) than the control group, whereas in Kenya, the WSH+N group had a lower prevalence of anemia than did the N group (PR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.53, 1.07), but this was not significant (P = 0.102).ConclusionsIYCF counseling with LNSs reduced the risks of anemia, iron deficiency, and low vitamin B-12. Effects on folate and vitamin A varied between studies. Improvements in WSH also reduced the risk of anemia in Bangladesh but did not provide added benefit over the nutrition-specific intervention.These trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01590095 (Bangladesh) and NCT01704105 (Kenya).

Association between Malaria Infection and Early Childhood Development Mediated by Anemia in Rural Kenya

“…The mean age of the children was 24 months, with 29% of children stunted and 7% underweight. The prevalence of anemia among children included in these analyses was 31%, which is similar to the prevalence of anemia among children in the Nutrition intervention arm (36%) and WASH + Nutrition intervention arm (27%), and lower than the prevalence of anemia in the control group (49%) [36]. Eighteen percent of children had a positive malaria blood test suggesting that they were infected with a malaria parasite in the previous month.…”

“…Households were visited at enrollment and two follow-up periods, one and two years later. A sub-study assessing environmental enteric dysfunction, malaria infection, and hemoglobin concentrations from biological samples enrolled 2,304 households from four arms of the WASH Benefits trial (WASH, WASH and Nutrition, Nutrition, or Active Control) [36,44,47]. The nutrition intervention entailed nutrition education and all children between 6-24 months in the participating household receiving LNS with iron.…”

“…The nutrition intervention entailed nutrition education and all children between 6-24 months in the participating household receiving LNS with iron. In the second follow-up, 1,449 children were included in the sub-study [36,44,47]. This sample size was calculated based on having the power to detect differences in environmental enteropathy biomarkers [48] and this sample size was sufficient to determine the association between malaria infection and child development outcomes.…”

“…Higher iron concentrations can increase malaria risk among children [35]. However, iron supplementation can increase hemoglobin concentrations in young children and in the WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) Benefits trial in Kenya, lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) increased hemoglobin concentrations, reduced anemia, and increased iron status [36]. In a randomized controlled trial of malaria prevention among children under three years of age in Uganda, anemia mediated the negative association between malaria infection and cognitive performance in all treatment arms [37].…”

“…The final sample size was therefore 592 children. Differences between those who provided consent for blood collection and had a sufficient blood sample, and those who did not were assessed due to the low response rate and no significant differences or systematic attrition were found [36].…”