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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Weight gain in the first two years of life is an important predictor of schooling outcomes in pooled analyses from five birth cohorts from low- and middle-income countries
Journal of Nutrition, Volume 140, No. 2, Year 2010
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Description
Schooling predicts better reproductive outcomes, better long-term health, and increased lifetime earnings. We used data from 5 cohorts (Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa) to explore the relative importance of birthweight and postnatal weight gain for schooling in pooled analyses (n = 7945) that used appropriate statistical methods [conditional weight (CW) gain measures that are uncorrelated with prior weights] and controlled for confounding. One SD increase in birthweight, ∼0.5 kg, was associated with 0.21 y more schooling and 8% decreased risk of grade failure. One SD increase in CW gain between 0 and 2 y, ∼0.7 kg, was associated with higher estimates, 0.43 y more schooling, and 12% decreased risk of failure. One SD increase of CW gain between 2 and 4 y, ∼0.9 kg, was associated with only 0.07 y more schooling but not with failure. Also, in children born in the lowest tertile of birthweight, 1 SD increase of CW between 0 and 2 y was associated with 0.52 y more schooling compared with 0.30 y in those in the upper tertile. Relationships with age at school entry were inconsistent. In conclusion, weight gain during the first 2 y of life had the strongest associations with schooling followed by birthweight; weight gain between 2 and 4 y had little relationship to schooling. Catch-up growth in smaller babies benefited schooling. Nutrition interventions aimed at women and children under 2 y are among the key strategies for achieving the millennium development goal of universal primary education by 2015. © 2010 American Society for Nutrition.
Authors & Co-Authors
Martorell, Reynaldo
Unknown Affiliation
Horta, Bernardo Lessa
Unknown Affiliation
Adair, Linda S.
Unknown Affiliation
Stein, Aryeh D.
Unknown Affiliation
Richter, Linda M.
Unknown Affiliation
Fall, Caroline H.D.
Unknown Affiliation
Bhargava, Santosh Kumar
Unknown Affiliation
Biswas, S. K.Dey
Unknown Affiliation
Perez, Lorna
Unknown Affiliation
Barros, Fernando C.
Unknown Affiliation
Victora, Cesar Gomes
Unknown Affiliation
Hallal, Pedro Curi Curi
Unknown Affiliation
Gigante, Denise Petrucci
Unknown Affiliation
Ramírez-Zea, Manuel
Unknown Affiliation
Kapani, Vinod
Unknown Affiliation
Osmond, Clive
Unknown Affiliation
Wills, Andrew K.
Unknown Affiliation
Dahly, Darren L.
Unknown Affiliation
Kuzawa, Christopher W.
Unknown Affiliation
Sachdev, Harshpal Singh
Unknown Affiliation
Norris, Shane A.
Unknown Affiliation
Mainwaring, Mathew
Unknown Affiliation
Lopes, Daniel
Unknown Affiliation
Statistics
Citations: 311
Authors: 23
Affiliations: 14
Identifiers
Doi:
10.3945/jn.109.112300
ISSN:
00223166
Research Areas
Food Security
Maternal And Child Health
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Study Design
Cohort Study
Study Locations
South Africa
Participants Gender
Female