Micronutrient Powders Reduce Child Morbidity

24 May 2016 --- A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that micronutrient (MNP) powders decrease morbidity in preschool children from Western Kenya.

Iron deficiency is a common problem in most countries. Children under 5 years of age have the highest anemia burdens, which has been difficult to reduce.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends universal iron supplementation in young children as drops/syrups or with micronutrient powders (MNP), which can be added directly by sprinkling on prepared food. However, concern has been raised that MNPs can increase infectious disease morbidity.

A recent report on the effects of MNP on morbidity from diarrhea, fever, cough and malaria from a study on preschool children in Western Kenya has shown a reduced rate of hospitalization of children for diarrhea and fever from villages receiving MNP treatment through a market-based community sales program. MNPs contained iron, zinc and 11 other micronutrients. The investigators enrolled over 1000 children in their study (NICHE Project) from 60 different villages. The area has high rates of malaria and diarrheal disease.

The investigators, led by Parmi S Suchdev, PhD, Associate Professor at Emory University, found that compared to children in the control villages, children in the intervention villages were 60% less likely to have hospitalizations for diarrhea and 70% less likely to be hospitalized for fever. No difference in hospitalization of children for malaria or respiratory illness was observed between placebo and MNP-treated communities.

This study is important because of the concern that nutrition repletion in some settings is associated with adverse infectious disease outcomes. However, the findings from this study done in preschool children in Kenya did not find evidence that the iron-containing MNP treatment increased the risk of common diseases in these children.