title: Frequent diarrhoeas in early childhood have sustained effects on the height, weight and head circumference of children in East Bhutan.
abstract: Episodes of diarrhoea and nutritional status of 113 children in East Bhutan were recorded monthly from 7 to 36 months of age. A re-examination was carried out 20 months later. The load of diarrhoeal diseases in early childhood was negatively associated with the parameters of children's long-term nutritional status 20 months later. Also, when early nutritional status and socioeconomic factors are included in the model, the diarrhoea variable explains a significant part of the variation in height for age (p = 0.04, delta R2 = 0.035), weight for age (p = 0.03, delta R2 = 0.030) and head circumference (p = 0.0007, delta R2 = 0.077). This is not so for the variation in weight for height or mid-upper arm circumference (p > 0.1, delta R2 < 0.005). Stunting is widespread in the area, and the effects of diarrhoea on nutritional status are more likely to be sustained in settings where dietary intake is marginal.
authors.affiliation: Department of International Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bøhler
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergström
mesh_terms: D001631:Bhutan / Q000453:epidemiology; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002508:Cephalometry; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology