Pattern and associated factors of the neurolathyrism epidemic in Ethiopia

Getahun, Haileyesus; Lambein, Fernand; Vanhoorne, Michel; Stuyft, Patrick Van der

doi:10.1046/j.1365-3156.2002.00836.x

Cited by 34 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The findings of our study corroborate those of a previous one indicating that the exclusive use of traditional clay utensils for the preparation of grass pea foods increases the risk of paralysis (Getahun et al. 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Neurolathyrism risk depends on type of grass pea preparation and on mixing with cereals and antioxidants

Getahun

Lambein

Vanhoorne

et al. 2005

Tropical Med Int Health

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Summaryobjective To study an array of household individual and dietary risk factors for neurolathyrism. method Case-control study using recent cases in a district highly affected by the recent neurolathyrism epidemic in Ethiopia: 108 households with cases and 104 households with no cases; 170 neurolathyrism cases, 370 intra-family controls and 170 community controls frequency matched for age and sex.results A history of acute illness was associated with a two-and threefold increased risk of paralysis in community and intra-family controls, respectively. Soaking grass pea in water before cooking roughly halved the risk of neurolathyrism but cooking in clay utensils more than quadrupled it. Consumption of grass pea in the green unripe and boiled forms increased the risk 10 times or more. Mixing the food with gravy that contains condiments with antioxidant activity reduced it by a factor of 4. The consumption of grass pea mixed with cereals rich in sulphur amino acids was also highly protective, but the magnitude of the effect depended on the grass pea preparation consumed.conclusion Consumption of pure grass pea, especially in the green unripe and boiled forms, should be avoided. Communities at risk of neurolathyrism during famine crises should be encouraged to combine and use grass pea with cereals before the household cereal stock is fully depleted. Breeding programmes, alongside traditional attempts to reduce the toxin content, should enhance the content of sulphur amino acids and antioxidants in grass pea.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Neurolathyrism epidemics mainly occur during times of food shortages as in drought‐ and flood‐related famine as grass pea is resistant to both water shortage and flooding. Outbreaks have occurred recently in Afghanistan in 2001 (Anonymous 2001), in Nepal in 1998 (ProMED 1999) and in Ethiopia in 1997 (Getahun et al. 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurolathyrism risk depends on type of grass pea preparation and on mixing with cereals and antioxidants

Getahun

Lambein

Vanhoorne

et al. 2005

Tropical Med Int Health

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“…The dietary habits of females, mainly eating less to save food for the family and hormonal factors, may explain the lower incidence in females. 14,15,16 In spite of the problem of lathyrism, Iv continues to be grown and utilised amongst the rural poor in countries such as India and Pakistan. Because of its ability to yield a seed crop under rigorous drought conditions, it is of considerable importance in areas subject to famine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of detoxified Indian vetch (Lathyrus sativus L.) on sensory and protein quality characteristics of composite flour chapatti

et al. 2006

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We studied the effects of different processing treatments, including soaking, steeping, boiling in water and germination and chemical treatments with H 2 SO 4 , HCl, lime and NaHCO 3 , on the removal of a neurotoxin, β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP), from Indian vetch (Iv) and addition of detoxified Iv in chapatti. The toxin level was quantified by using thin-layer chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods. Maximum removal was observed after steeping in water at 60-70 • C for 8 h with seven rinses. The samples were dried, milled into flour and added to chapatti at different levels. Sensory attributes revealed that the chapattis were most acceptable by judges when supplemented with up to 200 g kg −1 of flour. The protein level of Iv flour increased from 124 to 174 g kg −1 as result of supplementation at 300 g kg −1 . Biological studies with albino rats showed that detoxified Iv had a better impact on nutritional status.

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“…As documented by Major Andrew Buchannan "The disease varies in severity according to the length of time during which the grain was consumed, to the quantity that was consumed daily, to the age and sex of the persons affected" (Buchanan, 1904). Case control study shows that consumption of Lathyrus sativus is associated with lathyrism (Getahun et al, 2002(Getahun et al, , 2005. It is noteworthy that prohibition of consumption of Lathyrus sativus has been unsuccessful, and the crop is still cultivated and consumed in Asia (Khandare et al, 2014), Europe, North and East Africa, North and South America, and the Middle East (Campbell, 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

El Niño-southern oscillations and lathyrism epidemics

Oluwole

2015

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Epidemics of lathyrism, a neurological syndrome of spastic paraparesis, have occurred during severe droughts in Europe, Asia, and Africa for millenia. Causation is linked to exposure to β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-L-ODAP), a neurotoxin in Lathyrus sativus. Lathyrism shares neurological features with konzo, a syndrome of predominantly spastic paraparesis which occurs during droughts in East and Central Africa and is linked to El Niño activity. This study was done to determine the relationship of lathyrism epidemics to phases of El Niño-southern oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), and to propose a model to explain why the geospatial distributions of lathyrism and konzo are non-overlapping. Contingency table of phases of ENSO and occurrence of lathyrism epidemics in Central Provinces, India from 1833-1902 was created and odds ratio was calculated. Wavelet spectra of time series of annual occurrence of lathyrism in Rewah district, India, and its coherence with ENSO and PDO from 1894 to 1920 were performed. Lathyrism epidemic was associated with El Niño phase of ENSO, odds ratio 378 (95% 32-4475). Global spectra showed peaks at periodicities of 2.5 and 4.6 years for lathyrism; 2.7 and 5.0 years for PDO; and 2.5, 4.6, 7.0 years for ENSO. Spectrograms showed time-varying periodicities of 2.5-3.5 and 4.5-5.5 years for lathyrism; 2.0-3.0 and 6.5-9.0 years for ENSO; and 3.5 and 5.0 years for PDO, p < 0.0001. Spectral coherence were at 2.0-3.5 and 4.5-5.0 years for ENSO and lathyrism p < 0.0001, and 5.0 years for PDO and lathyrism p < 0.05. The droughts of El Niños initiate dependence on Lathyrus sativus, which exposes the population to neurotoxic β-L-ODAP. Public health control of lathyrism epidemics should include development of models to forecast El Niños and initiate food programmes in susceptible areas.

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Pattern and associated factors of the neurolathyrism epidemic in Ethiopia

Cited by 34 publications

References 12 publications

Neurolathyrism risk depends on type of grass pea preparation and on mixing with cereals and antioxidants

Neurolathyrism risk depends on type of grass pea preparation and on mixing with cereals and antioxidants

Influence of detoxified Indian vetch (Lathyrus sativus L.) on sensory and protein quality characteristics of composite flour chapatti

El Niño-southern oscillations and lathyrism epidemics

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