An association between chronic undernutrition and educational test scores in Vietnamese children.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between results of educational tests and the anthropometric status of schoolchildren.


METHODS
Cross-sectional data collected during the baseline survey of a randomised trial.


METHODS
Eighty-one primary schools in three districts of northern Vietnam.


METHODS
A total of 3055 schoolchildren enrolled in class 3 and born in 1990.


METHODS
Tests of mathematics and Vietnamese language developed not to show floor or ceiling effects, and Z-scores of height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height.


RESULTS
After controlling for age, sex, district and school the results of test scores in both mathematics and Vietnamese were significantly negatively correlated with Z-scores of height-for-age (P<0.001) and weight-for-age (P<0.001), but not with weight-for-height (P=0.75).


CONCLUSIONS
A cross-sectional negative association was observed in Vietnamese primary school children between indicators of chronic undernutrition and tests of educational achievement.


BACKGROUND
The study was funded by donors to the Partnership for Child Development including the Rockefeller Foundation and the World Bank.
Hall
A
A
Partnership for Child Development, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK. ahall@hkidhaka.org
Khanh
L N
LN
Son
T H
TH
Dung
N Q
NQ
Lansdown
R G
RG
Dar
D T
DT
Hanh
N T
NT
Moestue
H
H
Khoi
H H
HH
Bundy
D A
DA
D000886:Anthropometry; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D014744:Vietnam