Early-life nutrition, child growth, and adult cognitive and socioemotional functioning in Guatemala

Author/Creator:

Ramirez-Luzuriaga, Maria Jose, author

Publication/Creation:

Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2020

Resource Type:

Book

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

Early-life nutrition, child growth, and adult cognitive and socioemotional functioning in Guatemala / Maria Jose Ramirez-Luzuriaga

Related Names

Additional Author/Creators:

Stein, Aryeh D., degree supervisor
Emory University. Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. Program in Nutrition and Health Sciences, degree granting institution

Subjects/Genre

Genre:

Electronic dissertations
Academic theses

Description/Summary

Summary:

Children that develop in safe and nurturing environments that provide adequate nutrition, psychosocial stimulation, and learning opportunities are better equipped to reach their full developmental potential. It is estimated that in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), 43% of children under age five do not reach basic developmental milestones due to causes that are rooted in poverty. This dissertation uses extensive longitudinal data to explore long-term associations between early-life nutrition, psychosocial stimulation, and child growth on cognitive and socioemotional capacities in subjects 40 to 57 y of age who in early-childhood participated in a nutritional supplementation trial in eastern Guatemala. Specific aims were to 1) examine associations between exposure to nutritional supplementation in the first 1,000 days and adult executive function and socioemotional capacities, and identify mediators between enhanced early-life nutrition and adult socioemotional outcomes, 2) identify distinct height-for-age (HAZ) linear growth trajectories from birth through age 84 months and examine their predictors and associations with adult executive function and socioemotional capacities, and 3) determine the cross-sectional interrelationships between cognitive and socioemotional functioning in adulthood. Results indicated that exposure to nutritional supplementation in the first 1,000 days was positively associated with executive function and socioemotional capacities at ages 40 to 57 y (n=1,268). Mediation analysis showed stronger associations between psychosocial stimulation and cognitive abilities than between nutritional supplementation and cognitive abilities (n=1,640). Results from the second aim revealed that linear growth trajectories showed similar (parallel) slopes that were primarily distinguished as a matter of severity of linear growth faltering at birth (intercepts). Maternal height, socioeconomic status, and exposure to nutritional supplementation in the first 1,000 days were positively associated with membership to the high-HAZ linear growth trajectory. Linear regression models indicated a gradient of positive associations between HAZ trajectories and measures of cognitive ability and meaning and purpose at ages 40 to 57 y. Completed grades of schooling partially mediated the association between high-HAZ linear growth trajectory and scores on non-verbal fluid intelligence and working memory capacity. Lastly, the cross-sectional analysis indicated that executive function and non-verbal fluid intelligence at ages 40 to 57 y were strongly correlated with each other and weakly correlated with socioemotional functioning (n=1,268). Findings from this dissertation suggest that linear growth is a marker of early-life neurological development that remains intricately intertwined with both cognitive and socioemotional domains. Furthermore, results suggest that in populations in which undernutrition is prevalent, programs addressing both nutrition and psychosocial stimulation may produce greater long-term benefits in cognitive and socioemotional outcomes than nutritional supplementation alone. This study, together with several others conducted in LMICs, indicate the need to identify evidence-based and comprehensive intervention packages that integrate psychosocial stimulation and nutritional components in early childhood.

Language:

English

Language Note:

English

Physical Type/Description:

1 online resource (225 pages)

General Note:

Source of abstract: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 82-08, Section: B.
Advisors: Stein, Aryeh; Committee members: Shivani Patel; Manuel Ramirez-Zea; Reynaldo Martorell; John Hoddinott; Rachel Waford.
Keywords: Linear growth; Cognitive development; Structural equation modeling; Psychosocial stimulation; Socio-emotional development

Local Note:

Available to current Emory faculty, students and staff.
ProQuest digital dissertation copies of Emory dissertations may be downloaded free of charge by Emory faculty, students, and staff unless the author has chosen to embargo the work.

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9937349838902486

ISBN:

9798691281006