Food Safety Practices and Stunting among School-Age Children-An Observational Study Finding from an Urban Slum of Bangladesh.

Background: Food safety incorporates the handling, preparation, and storage of food materials in ways that prevent foodborne illness. We aimed to investigate the typical food safety practices in a Bangladeshi slum context and to explore if stunting among school-age children was associated with various components of food safety. Method: We analysed the MAL-ED birth cohort data from the Bangladesh site. A total of 265 healthy children were enrolled in the study; we could follow up and collect food safety-related data from 187 participants. Results: The average age of the children was 6.5 years (standard deviation or SD 0.04) and 49% of them were female. About 26% of the children were stunted. In our bivariate analysis, caregivers' handwashing practice after using the toilet, treatment of drinking water, presence of insects/pests in the cooking area, and child's eating ready-made/street food more than three times per day were significantly associated with stunting. After adjusting for pertinent factors, treatment of drinking water (adjusted odds ratio or AOR = 2.50, 95% confidence interval or CI: 1.03, 6.05), and child's eating ready-made/street food more than three times/day (AOR = 2.34, 95%CI: 1.06, 5.15) remained significantly associated with stunting. Conclusions: Diverse aspects of food safety practices have a substantial association with stunting among school-age children living in an unhygienic slum environment in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dietary Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Animal Protein Intake and Their Association to the Linear Growth Trajectory of Children from Birth to 24 Months of Age: Results From MAL-ED Birth Cohort Study Conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests lack of understanding of the association of specific nutrients with different time points of linear growth trajectory. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the role of dietary macro- and micronutrients on length-for-age z (LAZ) score trajectory of children across first 24 months of their life. METHODS: The MAL-ED Bangladesh birth cohort study recruited 265 healthy newborn children after birth. The linear growth trajectory of those children was modeled using latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) technique. RESULTS: Dietary magnesium intake at 9 to 11 months was positively associated (coefficient ß = 0.006, P < .02) with LAZ at 12 months. Animal protein intake at 15 to 17 months, in turn, was positively associated (ß = 0.03, P < .03) with LAZ at 18 months. However, vitamin D intake at 15 to 17 months was negatively associated (ß = -0.06, P < .02) with LAZ at 18 months. Other micro- and macronutrients did not show any statistically significant association with the linear growth trajectory. We also found that birth weight (ß = 0.91, P < .01), treating water (ß = 0.35, P < 0.00), and maternal height (ß = 3.4, P < .00) were positively associated with intercept. Gender had a significant negative association with the intercept, but a positive association with the slope (ß = -0.39, P < .01; ß = 0.08, P < .04), respectively. Conversely, birth weight had negative association with the slope (ß = -0.12, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Dietary magnesium and animal protein were positively and vitamin D was negatively associated with the linear growth trajectory. Maternal height, birth weight, gender, and treatment of drinking water also played significant roles in directing the trajectory.