ArticleEuropean journal of nutrition2021
Association of iron supplementation and deworming with early childhood development: analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys in ten low- and middle-income countries.
Article in European journal of nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perinatal and Childhood Risk Factors of Adverse Early Childhood Developmental Outcomes: A Systematic Review Using a Socioecological Model.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The relationship between early childhood development and feeding practices during the dietary transitional period in rural China: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
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Abstract
purposeWe assessed the associations of iron supplementation and deworming separately or combined with improved early childhood development (ECD) status.
methodsCross-sectional data were analyzed for 29,729 children aged 36-59 months surveyed using the Demographic and Health Surveys in ten low- and middle-income countries, where iron supplementation and deworming are recommended by the World Health Organization. In each country, we estimated linear regression models for the effects of iron supplementation and deworming individually or combined on the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) z score, and whether this association differed between various ECD domains and the sex and residence of the child. Estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses.
resultsCompared with receiving neither of the two interventions, iron supplementation plus deworming was associated with an increased ECDI z score (β = 0.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03-0.22, p = 0.009), particularly in rural residences. However, iron supplementation and deworming, individually, were not associated with the ECDI z score. Iron supplementation plus deworming was associated with higher odds of on-track development in literacy-numeracy (OR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.24-2.01, p < 0.001) and learning domains (OR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.09-1.48, p = 0.003), but not with development in the social-emotional and physical domains.
conclusionIron supplementation plus deworming, particularly for populations who are more susceptible to iron deficiency and intestinal worm infections, could be an important intervention for improving ECD. These findings may inform the argument for the necessity of implementing iron supplementation and deworming for preschool-age children.
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