PHA-Exch> Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) <ruglucia at paho.org>
crossposted from: EQUIDAD at listserv.paho.org

 LANCET Series, Maternal and child undernutrition*
*This is the first in a *Series* of five papers about maternal and child
undernutrition

* **Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and
health consequences*

 Prof Robert E Black MD  a ,   Prof Lindsay H Allen PhD b,   Prof Zulfiqar A
Bhutta MD c,   Prof Laura E Caulfield PhD a,   Mercedes de Onis MD d,
Majid Ezzati PhD e,   Colin Mathers PhD d   and   Prof Juan Rivera PhD f,
for the Maternal and Child Undernutrition Study Group

*The Lancet,  Volume 371, Number 9608, 19 January 2008*

* *Available online at:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673607616900/fulltext

  "……..Maternal and child undernutrition is highly prevalent in low-income
and middle-income countries, resulting in substantial increases in mortality
and overall disease burden. In this paper, we present new analyses to
estimate the effects of the risks related to measures of undernutrition, as
well as to suboptimum breastfeeding practices on mortality and disease.

 We estimated that stunting, severe wasting, and intrauterine growth
restriction together were responsible for 2·2 million deaths and 21% of
disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for children younger than 5 years.
Deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc were estimated to be responsible for 0·6
million and 0·4 million deaths, respectively, and a combined 9% of global
childhood DALYs. Iron and iodine deficiencies resulted in few child deaths,
and combined were responsible for about 0·2% of global childhood DALYs. Iron
deficiency as a risk factor for maternal mortality added 115000 deaths and
0·4% of global total DALYs. Suboptimum breastfeeding was estimated to be
responsible for 1·4 million child deaths and 44 million DALYs (10% of DALYs
in children younger than 5 years). In an analysis that accounted for
co-exposure of these nutrition-related factors, they were together
responsible for about 35% of child deaths and 11% of the total global
disease burden.

 The high mortality and disease burden resulting from these
nutrition-related factors make a compelling case for the urgent
implementation of interventions to reduce their occurrence or ameliorate
their consequences.,,,,"
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