Long term impact of nutrition intervention on growth and development: Follow up of a cohort of children enrolled in previous nutrition trials/studies
Project Period: 2022 - 2023
Collaborators: Aga Khan University’s Institute of Global Health & Development & Brain and Mind Institute
Project Summary: Maternal diet, nutritional status during pregnancy, and the early diet of the offspring play an important role in later health. The short- term outcomes of early nutrition have been extensively studied in recent decades but the impact of these early nutrition interventions on long term health and development has been missing. Most of the key nutrition intervention trials including education, food supplementation, micronutrient supplementation and others have usually looked at the outcomes for a defined period and the evidence on the sustainability of these impacts is largely lacking.
Led by Aga Khan University’s Institute of Global Health & Development, this project is assessing the long-term effects of early nutrition interventions provided to mothers and their infants in rural Pakistan. The Brain and Mind Institute will therefore leverage on this exiting cohort to nest Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to collect preliminary data on the burden of depression and anxiety in this cohort. This activity and data will serve as an entry point for the Institute into mental health-related research in Pakistan and as a baseline on which we will further develop part of our future research endeavours.
