ArticlePublic health nutrition2019
Brain MRI and cognitive function seven years after surviving an episode of severe acute malnutrition in a cohort of Malawian children.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06781918 (BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, GROWTH AND HEALTH IN CHILDREN WITH SEVERE ACUTE MALNUTRITION), which is not on this map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Brain development, growth and health in children with severe acute malnutrition
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of fatty acid profiles in varying recipes of ready-to-use therapeutic foods on neurodevelopmental and clinical outcomes of children (6-59 months) with severe wasting: a systematic review.Nutrition reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Neurodevelopmental, cognitive, behavioural and mental health impairments following childhood malnutrition: a systematic review.BMJ global health · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Impact of food supplements on early child development in children with moderate acute malnutrition: A randomised 2 x 2 x 3 factorial trial in Burkina Faso.PLoS medicine · 2020Trial
- Childhood brain morphometry in children with persistent stunting and catch-up growth.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Trends in social determinants of inequality in child undernutrition from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys, 2005-2016.PloS one · 2024Article
- Brain morphometry and chronic inflammation in Bangladeshi children growing up in extreme poverty.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Article
- Docosahexaenoic Acid Stability in Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Brain morphometry and diminished physical growth in Bangladeshi children growing up in extreme poverty: A longitudinal study.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2021Article
- Article
- A Mixed-Methods Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of a Hospital-Based Psychosocial Stimulation and Counseling Program for Caregivers and Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition.Current developments in nutrition · 2021Article
- Limited Shared Variance among Measures of Cognitive Performance Used in Nutrition Research: The Need to Prioritize Construct Validity and Biological Mechanisms in Choice of Measures.Current developments in nutrition · 2021Article
- Long-term outcomes for children with disability and severe acute malnutrition in Malawi.BMJ global health · 2020Article
- Early development in children with moderate acute malnutrition: A cross-sectional study in Burkina Faso.Maternal & child nutrition · 2020Article
- Observational
- A quantitative cross-sectional survey of psychosocial stimulation and counselling interventions at nutritional rehabilitation units in Southern Malawi.Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2019Article
- Nutritional status, cognitive achievement, and educational attainment of children aged 8-11 in rural South India.PloS one · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo assess differences in cognition functions and gross brain structure in children seven years after an episode of severe acute malnutrition (SAM), compared with other Malawian children.
designProspective longitudinal cohort assessing school grade achieved and results of five computer-based (CANTAB) tests, covering three cognitive domains. A subset underwent brain MRI scans which were reviewed using a standardized checklist of gross abnormalities and compared with a reference population of Malawian children.
settingBlantyre, Malawi.ParticipantsChildren discharged from SAM treatment in 2006 and 2007 (n 320; median age 9·3 years) were compared with controls: siblings closest in age to the SAM survivors and age/sex-matched community children.
resultsSAM survivors were significantly more likely to be in a lower grade at school than controls (adjusted OR = 0·4; 95 % CI 0·3, 0·6; P < 0·0001) and had consistently poorer scores in all CANTAB cognitive tests. Adjusting for HIV and socio-economic status diminished statistically significant differences. There were no significant differences in odds of brain abnormalities and sinusitis between SAM survivors (n 49) and reference children (OR = 1·11; 95 % CI 0·61, 2·03; P = 0·73).
conclusionsDespite apparent preservation in gross brain structure, persistent impaired school achievement is likely to be detrimental to individual attainment and economic well-being. Understanding the multifactorial causes of lower school achievement is therefore needed to design interventions for SAM survivors to thrive in adulthood. The cognitive and potential economic implications of SAM need further emphasis to better advocate for SAM prevention and early treatment.
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