ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2023
Association between asymptomatic infections and linear growth in 18-24-month-old Malawian children.
Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Anthropometric and neurocognitive consequences of Campylobacter, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, and norovirus: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Pooled it
- Consequences of Shigella infection in young children: a systematic review.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Malaria Incidence, Growth, and their Relationship among a Cohort of Malawian Children.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2026Article
- Burden of Shigella infection in children under five years living in a peri-urban area of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A community-based cohort study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Early-life immunological and microbial differences between East African and North European children.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- The Role of IGF-1 and IL-10 in Childhood Stunting: Evidence From Indonesia.TheScientificWorldJournal · 2026Article
- Impact of asymptomatic malaria infection on children's growth in rural Malawi.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Optimizing Vaccine Trials for Enteric Diseases: The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH)Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Prevalence and Load of the Campylobacter Genus in Infants and Associated Household Contacts in Rural Eastern Ethiopia: a Longitudinal Study from the Campylobacter Genomics and Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (CAGED) Project.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2023Article
- Association between asymptomatic infections and linear growth in 18-24-month-old Malawian children.Maternal & child nutrition · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Inadequate diet and frequent symptomatic infections are considered major causes of growth stunting in low-income countries, but interventions targeting these risk factors have achieved limited success. Asymptomatic infections can restrict growth, but little is known about their role in global stunting prevalence. We investigated factors related to length-for-age Z-score (LAZ) at 24 months by constructing an interconnected network of various infections, biomarkers of inflammation (as assessed by alpha-1-acid glycoprotein [AGP]), and growth (insulin-like growth factor 1 [IGF-1] and collagen X biomarker [CXM]) at 18 months, as well as other children, maternal, and household level factors. Among 604 children, there was a continuous decline in mean LAZ and increased mean length deficit from birth to 24 months. At 18 months of age, the percentage of asymptomatic children who carried each pathogen was: 84.5% enterovirus, 15.5% parechovirus, 7.7% norovirus, 4.6% rhinovirus, 0.6% rotavirus, 69.6% Campylobacter, 53.8% Giardia lamblia, 11.9% malaria parasites, 10.2% Shigella, and 2.7% Cryptosporidium. The mean plasma IGF-1 concentration was 12.5 ng/ml and 68% of the children had systemic inflammation (plasma AGP concentration >1 g/L). Shigella infection was associated with lower LAZ at 24 months through both direct and indirect pathways, whereas enterovirus, norovirus, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, and malaria infections were associated with lower LAZ at 24 months indirectly, predominantly through increased systemic inflammation and reduced plasma IGF-1 and CXM concentration at 18 months.
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