STUNTING AND ANEMIA ARE PREVALENT IN CAMBODIAN SCHOOL CHILDREN AND AFFECT COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE | 20th International Congress of Nutrition , Granada, Spain, September 15–20, 2013
M. Perignon1, M. Fiorentino1, K. Kuong2, K. Burja3, ME. Parker4, C. Chamnan2, J. Berger1, FT. Wieringa1 | 1 UMR Nutripass, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), Montpellier, France; 2 Dept Fisheries Post-harvest Technologies and Quality Control, Fisheries Administration, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; 3World Food Programme, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; 4PATH, Seattle, United States
Background and objectives:Micronutrient deficiencies remain a critical public health problem among children in developing countries. In Cambodia, more than half of children 6-59 months old were anemic and 40% were stunted in 2010. Many studies have assessed the prevalence or adverse outcomes of nutritional deficiencies among children <5yrs, but data on the impact of such deficiencies in school children on e.g. cognitive development are scarce. The FORISCA project evaluates the effect of introducing fortified rice through the WFP school meal program on micronutrient status, health, and cognition among Cambodian school children. The present study investigated childhood anemia and anthropometric status, and their relation to cognitive performance.
Methods: The study sample consisted school children aged 5-15 yrs (N=2508) from 20 primary schools in Kampong Speu Province (KSP), Cambodia. Hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations were determined using HemoCue301+ system. Cognitive performance was assessed using Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices and two standardized tests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC): block design and picture completion. Anthropometric indices were calculated using the WHO 2006 standards.
Results: Anemia prevalence was 15.1%, with no significant differences between boys and girls or age. Anemia prevalence varied between 5% and 30% across the schools. Children with a Hb<115 g/L had lower scores on the Raven Test and Block design test (P<0.05 for both). The prevalence of stunting (HAZ<-2) was 42.5%, including 12.9% severe stunting (HAZ<-3).Stunting was a significant risk factor for lower cognition performance in Raven test (p<0.01), picture completion (p<0.01) and block design up to 12yrs (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Low hemoglobin concentration and stunting were significant risk factors for lower cognitive performance. Interventions to improve the nutritional status of Cambodian school children are urgently needed.
