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Jul 2026 DOI 10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-26-6094
Amanya Mutuli LucyCorresponding author
In early childhood, adequate dietary intake is essential for optimal growth, brain development, and the acquisition of cognitive skills. However, children with special needs often face increased nutritional vulnerability due to feeding difficulties, restricted diets, metabolic anomalies and limited access to health and care services. These challenges significantly compromise their access to optimal dietary intake that negatively impacts on their cognitive development and functioning. This baseline survey aimed at identifying the existing characteristics of dietary intake and cognitive developmental outcomes of children aged below five years with special needs in Kakamega County. We involved 90 mother/child caregiver-child pair, selected through stratified sampling from early childhood development centers in Kakamega County. Data was collected using 24-hour dietary recall, food frequency questionnaires, anthropometric and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSIDIV) was used for assessment of cognitive development outcomes. Findings revealed high levels of micronutrient deficiencies, with 66.7 percent not meeting recommended intake for vitamin A, 76.7 percent for iron, and 89 percent for zinc. Only 47.7 percent met minimum dietary diversity score. Nutrition assessments showed 52.2 percent of children had normal weight and 6.7 percent were severely undernourished. Feeding dependence varied by disability with 100 percent of children with ADHD self-fed. Cognitive assessments showed that children with physical disabilities had the highest scores across all cognitive domains, while children with autism demonstrated lowest, particularly in communication and executive functioning. In conclusion, the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies as a consequence of sub-optimal dietary intake, particularly in essential micronutrients are closely linked to poor cognitive developmental outcomes. Low levels of nutrition education of parents and feeding dependency negatively impacts on cognitive development outcomes of children with special needs. Thus, implementation of special needs inclusive of nutrition interventions, caregivers’ training and early stimulation programs to support holistic development of these children is needed.
Jun 2026 DOI 10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-25-5909
Bisai SamiranCorresponding author
The high prevalence of anemia among children and adolescents in India is still an overwhelming problem. Not only that, there is also a considerable deficiency of various micronutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, serum ferritin, Zinc and Folate etc. in children. These micronutrients have several functional roles for the normal growth and development of children. Unfortunately, recent studies on public health and nutrition intervention have so far focused less on these micronutrition and more on anemia and nutrition. Data for this study obtained from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS 2016-18), a nationally representative survey covering different age group. Specifically, it includes information on 9767 children aged 1-4 years. Out of these surveyed children biomarker data for hemoglobin, serum ferritin, zinc, folate, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and Vitamin D were collected from 8242 children. Micronutrient deficiencies were identified based on WHO and other established cut-off criteria. Wealth quintiles were computed to identify household economic inequality. The prevalence of anemia at the national level was 40.7%. Among micronutrients, folate (22.9%) and zinc (18.7%) deficiencies were most commonly observed, followed by vitamins A (18.3), vitamin B12 (13.8%) and vitamin D (14.0%). Iron deficiency as measured by ferritin was present in 31.6% of children. It is alarming that nearly one in three children (32.8%) suffer from deficiencies in two or more micronutrients. Clear socioeconomic disparities were observed for all micronutrient deficiencies (MND); children in the poorest groups had significantly higher levels of micronutrient deficiencies than children in the richest groups. Among the states, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh had the highest overall micronutrient deficiencies, while West Bengal and Kerala had the lowest. This clearly shows that a large proportion of preschool children in India suffer from anemia and MND, with the prevalence being even more alarming in lower socio-economic settings. This study suggests that there is a need to move beyond single-nutrient interventions and implement comprehensive, multi-micronutrient supplementation or food fortification strategies seamlessly into the existing national health and nutrition programs.
Jul 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2328-0182.japst-20-3472
Abedulla Khan KayamkaniCorresponding author
Department of Clinical Pharmacy & Pharmacology, IbnSina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Introduction An adequate nutrition pattern is of major importance for one’s health and well-being, especially during pregnancy when a woman undergoes major biological, physical, psychological and social transformations. Macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies predispose the fetus to preterm birth, neural tube defects, and low birth weight for gestational age. This study was conducted to determine the nutrition awareness of women in childbearing age in order to provide a greater understanding of the life course perspective (LCP) in relation to nutrition behaviors and pregnancy. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on based on our conceptualization of nutrition awareness and questionnaire based studies of a face-to-face interview. The participants were women with age group of 17 years to 45 years participate in studies in Jeddah city. Data collection procedures A Semi-structured questionnaires prepared in English language were translated in to Arabic and then translated back to English to check for consistency. The questionnaires were pretested Human ethical committee; the questions assessed respondents’ nutrition knowledge. Results and Discussion Different questions were asked to 175 selected pregnant women to be included in this study assess knowledge of pregnant mothers on nutrition and determinant factors in the study area. Most of the respondents (34.85.2%) were in 19-25 years of age group.69.1 % (n=121) women says they pay attention to the number of soft drinks they drink each day. There would be fascinating to study awareness of specific nutrients and related issues, like consumption folic acid, non-vegetarian diet, minerals and life style such as mental stress and physical exercise.
Nov 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.2574-4526.jddd-17-1792
Angelou AnastasiosCorresponding author
Department of Surgery, Laiko Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Objectives: Bariatric surgery has been established as the cornerstone of treatment of morbid obesity with good immediate and long-term results. Nutrient deficiencies though, can be an important long-term complication and may lead to hematological, metabolic and especially neurological disorders which are not always reversible. Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency has been reported both after restrictive and malabsorptive procedures. The aim of this study is to review all cases that presented with Wernicke Encephalopathy after sleeve gastrectomy. Methods: A review of the literature was conducted to evaluate all sleeve gastrectomies performed till today and caused Wernicke encephalopathy to the patients. Demographic data, operative parameters, postoperative outcomes were collected and assessed. Results: A total of 13 studies, including 13 patients were analyzed. Patients ranged in age from 17 to 55 years. The onset of Wernicke encephalopathy occurred as early as 3 weeks after surgery to as late as 60 weeks after surgery. When symptoms of Wernicke encephalopathy developed, patients had lost from 19 kg up to 60 kg of body weight. Conclusions: Micronutrient deficiencies and particularly B1 deficiency can occur after LSG, although rarely. Preoperative nutritional assessment and postoperative follow-up plan, should signs of Wernicke’s encephalopathy be traced, is recommended in all patients.