Observational studyPloS one2018
Dietary cyanogen exposure and early child neurodevelopment: An observational study from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Observational study in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04036708 (Caregiver Early Child Development Training for Preventing Konzo From Toxic Cassava in the Democratic Republic of Congo), which is not on this map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Caregiver Early Child Development Training for Preventing Konzo From Toxic Cassava in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of Urinary Perchlorate and Thiocyanate With Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Cyanide overproduction impairs cellular bioenergetics in Down syndrome.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025Article
- Associations between Maternal Urinary Metabolite Concentrations of Selected Volatile Organic Compounds and Child Neurocognitive Development at Two Years of Age.Environmental health perspectives · 2025Article
- Neurocognitive Profile and Associated Factors Among Children Affected by Sickle Cell Disease in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Children's cognitive impairment associated with cassava cyanide in Democratic Republic of the Congo: Burden of disease.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout ofFrontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- The gut microbiome in konzo.Nature communications · 2021Observational
- Neurodevelopmental assessment at one year of age predicts neuropsychological performance at six years in a cohort of West African Children.Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence · 2021Article
- Preclinical and clinical research on the toxic and neurological effects of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) consumption.Metabolic brain disease · 2020Review
- Antidotal Effects of the Phenothiazine Chromophore Methylene Blue Following Cyanide Intoxication.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2019Article
- Konzo: a distinct neurological disease associated with food (cassava) cyanogenic poisoning.Brain research bulletin · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDietary cyanogen exposure from ingesting bitter (toxic) cassava as a main source of food in sub-Saharan Africa is related to neurological impairments in sub-Saharan Africa. We explored possible association with early child neurodevelopmental outcomes.
methodsWe undertook a cross-sectional neurodevelopmental assessment of 12-48 month-old children using the Mullen Scale of Early Learning (MSEL) and the Gensini Gavito Scale (GGS). We used the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-10 (HSCL-10) and Goldberg Depression Anxiety Scale (GDAS) to screen for symptoms of maternal depression-anxiety. We used the cyanogen content in household cassava flour and urinary thiocyanate (SCN) as biomarkers of dietary cyanogen exposure. We employed multivariable generalized linear models (GLM) with Gamma link function to determine predictors of early child neurodevelopmental outcomes.
resultsThe mean (SD) and median (IQR) of cyanogen content of cassava household flour were above the WHO cut-off points of 10 ppm (52.18 [32·79]) and 50 (30-50) ppm, respectively. Mean (SD) urinary levels of thiocyanate and median (IQR) were respectively 817·81 (474·59) and 688 (344-1032) μmole/l in mothers, and 617·49 (449·48) and 688 (344-688) μmole/l in children reflecting individual high levels as well as a community-wide cyanogenic exposure. The concentration of cyanide in cassava flour was significantly associated with early child neurodevelopment, motor development and cognitive ability as indicated by univariable linear regression (p < 0.05). After adjusting for biological and socioeconomic predictors at multivariable analyses, fine motor proficiency and child neurodevelopment remained the main predictors associated with the concentration of cyanide in cassava flour: coefficients of -0·08 to -.15 (p < 0·01). We also found a significant association between child linear growth, early child neurodevelopment, cognitive ability and motor development at both univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses coefficients of 1.44 to 7.31 (p < 0·01).
conclusionDietary cyanogen exposure is associated with early child neurodevelopment, cognitive abilities and motor development, even in the absence of clinically evident paralysis. There is a need for community-wide interventions for better cassava processing practices for detoxification, improved nutrition, and neuro-rehabilitation, all of which are essential for optimal development in exposed children.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.