Breastfeeding infants continuously for six months during the rainy season, without including any other foods, may help prevent a disease linked to micronutrient deficiencies, a study suggests.
The disease, called environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), is common among children in low-income settings and is linked to poor sanitation, micronutrient deficiencies and low height in children, the study says.
Exclusive breastfeeding protects against environmental enteric dysfunction, especially if it is introduced during the rainy season. Foods other than breast milk are more likely to be contaminated during the rainy season."
James Berkley, co-author of the study and professor of pediatric infectious disease, University of Oxford in England
Berkley says the research indicates that poor growth and frequent illness remain common in resource-poor countries and can be linked to environmental enteric dysfunction.
"We do not know the cause of environmental enteric dysfunction or when it first begins in childhood," he tellsSciDev.Net. "We wanted to see if abnormal growth of bacteria in the upper small bowel and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth might be responsible, along with looking [for] other potential exposures like infections, antibiotics, and breastfeeding," Berkley says. "The findings show that stopping exclusive breastfeeding was strongly associated with [the] disease."
The researchers studied 100 infants at birth in Junju — a settlement in rural coastal Kenya — from August 2015 to January 2017, and examined each infant for nine months. The babies were periodically assessed for growth and different indices such as diet, breastfeeding, illness episodes and medication.
"During the rainy season, diarrhoea, fever and breathing difficulty occurred more frequently, [and] markers of EED were worse," says the study published in EClinicalMedicine last month (21 April). "We heard from participants' carers that complementary foods consumed during the rainy season have usually been stored for longer and may therefore be at higher risk of bacterial or fungal toxin contamination or loss of nutrient value."
Goodness Anyanwu, a nutritionist at the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria, tellsSciDev.Netthat the six-month period of exclusive breastfeeding enhances infant gut maturity before the introduction of complementary feeding.
"The angle of intensifying exclusive breastfeeding during the rainy season, especially for babies born in that period to prevent enteric contamination from grains stored over a long time is revealing," says Anyanwu. "It shows that for children above six months, predominant breastfeeding should be a priority during the rainy season."
She recommends that the study is used as an advocacy tool for the World Breastfeeding Week that happens globally every August.
"Results of research such as this should be incorporated into nutrition education modules, both in the rural communities and urban regions. It will also be beneficial at the national and Sub-Saharan [Africa] level," she says.
Berkley adds that families and nutritionists should be made aware of the risk of early discontinuation of breastfeeding, which is greatest during the rainy season.
Crane, R.J., et al. (2022) Comparative multi-tissue profiling reveals extensive tissue-specificity in transcriptome reprogramming during thermal adaptation. eClinical Medicine. doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101403.
Watoto wanaolelewa kwa mama kwa miezi sita wakati wa msimu wa mvua, bila kuingiza vyakula vingine, wanaweza kusaidia kuzuia ugonjwa unaohusiana na upungufu wa virutubisho vidogo, utafiti unaonyesha. Ugonjwa huo unaoitwa Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (EED) ni wa kawaida miongoni mwa watoto katika mazingira ya kipato cha chini na unahusishwa na usafi duni, upungufu wa virutubisho vidogo na urefu mdogo kwa watoto. Kunyonyesha pekee kunalinda dhidi ya matatizo ya mazingira ya utumbo, hasa ikiwa huanzishwa wakati wa msimu wa mvua. Vyakula vingine isipokuwa maziwa ya mama vina uwezekano mkubwa zaidi wa kuchafuliwa wakati wa majira ya mvua". James Berkley, mwandishi mwenza wa utafiti huo na profesa wa magonjwa ya kuambukiza ya watoto katika Chuo Kikuu cha Oxford, Uingereza, anasema utafiti huo unaonyesha kuwa ukuaji duni na magonjwa ya mara kwa mara bado ni ya kawaida katika nchi maskini na inaweza kuhusishwa na matatizo ya mazingira ya utumbo. "Hatujui sababu ya mazingira ya dysfunction ya utumbo au wakati inaanza kwanza katika utoto", anaambia SciDev.Net. "Tulitaka kuona kama ukuaji wa bakteria katika matumbo madogo ya juu na ukuaji wa bakteria katika matumbo madogo inaweza kuwa na jukumu, pamoja na kuangalia [kwa] uwezekano mwingine wa kuambukizwa kama maambukizo, antibiotics, na kunyonyesha, ""Berkley anasema." "Ugunduzi huo unaonyesha kwamba kuacha kunyonyesha kwa mama peke yake kulihusiana sana na ugonjwa huo". Watafiti hao walichunguza watoto 100 waliozaliwa katika kijiji cha Junju, Kenya, kuanzia Agosti 2015 hadi Januari 2017, na kila mtoto alichunguzwa kwa miezi tisa. Watoto hao walichunguzwa kwa mara kwa mara kwa ukuaji na viashiria tofauti kama vile lishe, kunyonyesha, vipindi vya ugonjwa na dawa. "Katika msimu wa mvua, kuhara, homa na ugumu wa kupumua zilitokea mara nyingi zaidi, na alama za EED zilikuwa mbaya zaidi, ""alisema utafiti uliochapishwa katika EClinicalMedicine mwezi uliopita (Aprili 21)." "Tulisikia kutoka kwa watunzaji wa washiriki kwamba vyakula vya ziada vilivyotumiwa wakati wa msimu wa mvua kwa kawaida vimehifadhiwa kwa muda mrefu na kwa hivyo vinaweza kuwa na hatari kubwa ya uchafuzi wa bakteria au sumu ya kuvu au kupoteza thamani ya virutubisho. """ Goodness Anyanwu, mtaalamu wa lishe katika Wizara ya Afya ya Shirikisho, Nigeria, anawaambia SciDev.Net kwamba kipindi cha miezi sita cha kunyonyesha pekee huongeza ukomavu wa matumbo ya mtoto kabla ya kuanzishwa kwa kulisha kwa ziada. "Kupunguza kunyonyesha wakati wa msimu wa mvua, hasa kwa watoto waliozaliwa wakati huo, ili kuzuia uchafuzi wa utumbo kutokana na nafaka zilizohifadhiwa kwa muda mrefu, ni jambo la kufunua,"" anasema Anyanwu." "Inaonyesha kwamba kwa watoto wenye umri wa miezi sita na zaidi, kunyonyesha kwa mama kwa kiasi kikubwa kunapaswa kuwa jambo la kwanza wakati wa majira ya mvua". "Kama matokeo, utafiti huo utatumiwa kama chombo cha utetezi kwa ajili ya ""Wiki ya Kimataifa ya Kunyonyesha"" ambayo hufanyika ulimwenguni kote kila Agosti." "Matokeo ya utafiti kama huu yanapaswa kuingizwa katika moduli za elimu ya lishe, katika jamii za vijijini na mikoa ya mijini. Pia itakuwa na manufaa katika ngazi ya kitaifa na Kusini mwa Jangwa la Sahara [Afrika]", anasema. "Berkeley anaongeza kwamba familia na wataalamu wa lishe wanapaswa kufahamishwa juu ya hatari ya kuacha mapema kunyonyesha, ambayo ni kubwa zaidi wakati wa msimu wa mvua. """ Crane, R. J., et al. Kwa mfano, kwa mfano, upimaji wa tishu nyingi unaonyesha upimaji wa tishu katika programu ya transcriptome wakati wa marekebisho ya joto. eClinical Medicine. (Dai.org 10.1016 jc.ln)