Influences of early child nutritional status and home learning environment on child development in Vietnam

Abstract

Early childhood development plays a key role in a child's future health, educational success, and economic status. However, suboptimal early development remains a global challenge. This study examines the influences of quality of the home learning environment (HOME) and child stunting in the first year of life on child development. We used data collected from a randomized controlled trial of preconceptional micronutrient supplementation in Vietnam (n = 1,458). The Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III were used to assess cognition, language, and motor development domains at 2 years. At 1 year, 14% of children were stunted, and 15%, 58%, and 28% of children lived in poor, medium, and high HOME environments, respectively. In multivariate generalized linear regression models, living in a high HOME environment was significantly associated with higher scores (0.10 to 0.13 SD) in each of the developmental domains. Stunted children scored significantly lower for cognitive, language, and motor development (−0.11 to −0.18), compared to nonstunted children. The negative associations between stunting on development were modified by HOME; the associations were strong among children living in homes with a poor learning environment whereas they were nonsignificant for those living in high-quality learning environments. In conclusion, child stunting the first year of life was negatively associated with child development at 2 years among children in Vietnam, but a high-quality HOME appeared to attenuate these associations. Early interventions aimed at improving early child growth as well as providing a stimulating home environment are critical to ensure optimal child development.

Association between stunting and early childhood development among children aged 36–59 months inSouth Asia

“…Examples of such interventions include improved maternal nutrition to reduce the risk of maternal anaemia and small for gestational age or low weight birth, optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, micronutrient supplementation and food fortification, good hygiene and safe food handling practices, and timely detection and treatment of common childhood illnesses. The present findings also suggest that the integration of child stimulation, early learning, and better family care (Nguyen et al, ) with nutrition interventions is likely to yield the best results (Walker, Chang, Powell, & Grantham‐McGregor, ).…”

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm babies during infancy in Eastern Uganda: a prospective cohort study

“…About 20% of preterm infants had malnutrition, of whom a third had NDD. Malnutrition due to poor feeding, infections, and/or poor gut development increases the vulnerability of preterm babies to developing NDD [ 34 , 35 ]. Childhood malnutrition in LICs is still a major challenge to early childhood development [ 36 ].…”

Neurodevelopment at 2 years corrected age among Vietnamese preterm infants

“…With low BW infants, Vietnamese caregivers tend to focus primarily on physical growth rather than on mental development. As well as lack of knowledge of techniques to maximise cognitive potential, the time spent on interactive play and the diversity of available toys have been found to be limited 33 34. This may explain the high percentages of participants with some impairment in cognition (42%) and language (31%).…”