Active clinical trials for "Malnutrition"

The Mazira Project is a study of the effect of egg consumption on growth, development and gut health of infants in Malawi. The study randomly assigns infants to receive one egg per day over six months or to receive an equivalent value of food at the end of six months. Growth, achievement of developmental milestones, gut microbiome composition and other measures of nutritional status are compared between the two groups to determine whether regular egg consumption benefits Malawian infants.

Lack of adequate nutrition is the single biggest contributor to child mortality. Malawi is amongst the countries most affected. In global feeding programmes several variations of fortified blended foods are used and imported into the country of need as supplementary foods. However, the accessibility and efficacy of supplementary feeding is variable and can be a limiting factor for success in preventing and treating malnutrition. Therefore, in countries with widespread hunger, an increasing demand exists for innovative strategies offering alternative solutions for year-round access to commonly consumed home-grown products with good nutritional value. Moringa Oleifera - described as 'a nutritional and medicinal cornucopia' is common throughout in Malawi. Moringa leaves can be repeatedly cropped and are rich source of nutrients and non-nutrient bioactive compounds. These nutritional characteristics give Moringa the potential to significantly contribute in Malawi's battle against malnutrition and mineral element deficiencies. The aim of this study is to compare Moringa as a substitute in specially formulated supplementary foods in order to evaluate the in vivo bioavailability of key nutrients and bioactives and biological activities of the plant. This would assess the potential for establishing Moringa oleifera as an economically viable crop which could contribute towards establishing a resilient food supply chain in Malawi that will deliver essential nutrients across the population.

Background: Worldwide, more than 50 million children under 5 years of age are wasted (weight-for-length/height Z-score (WLZ) <-2) and over 150 million children under 5 are stunted (length/height-for-age Z-score (LAZ) <-2); such wasting and stunting often begin during infancy.1 Optimal nutrition can prevent wasting and stunting. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is widely recommended by community health workers, doctors and nurses and provides optimal nutrition for most infants. However, early growth faltering is common for infants in low and middle income countries (LMIC) and can both increase an infant's risk of early mortality and also lead to deficits in attained height and weight throughout childhood. Thus research is needed to determine the most efficacious strategy to promote healthy early growth in LMIC. Objective: The proposed study will test the efficacy of early small-volume supplementation (ESVS) for increasing weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) at 1 month of age. Methodology: The PRIMES pilot (Study 3) will be a randomized clinical trial enrolling infants in Guinea-Bissau and Uganda weighing ≥2000g at birth. Infants weighing 2000-2499g at <6 hours of age (n=144; 72 per site) will be randomized on enrollment to one of two groups: 1) Early Small-Volume Supplementation (ESVS intervention group), which consists of up to 59 mL formula administered daily after breastfeeding through 30 days of age followed by EBF through 6 months of age; or 2) frequent exclusive breastfeeding without any food or fluid other than vitamins, minerals and medications (control) through 6 months of age. Infants weighing 2500-3300g at <6 hours of age will be weighed again at 4 days of age; those weighing <2600g at 4 days of age (n=180; 90 per site) will be randomized to the same intervention and control groups. Weight will be measured on all enrolled babies at birth on Day 1 and at 4, 14, 30, 60 and 180 days of age and additional measures including height, MUAC, skinfolds, and hemoglobin will be assessed at other time points. The study's primary outcome will be WAZ at 1 month of age. Secondary outcomes will include WLZ at 1 month of age; WAZ, WLZ and LAZ through 6 months of age; breastfeeding duration and infant intestinal microbiota.

Malnutrition is an epidemiologic problem with high prevalence in Mexico. Mexican children present a double burden of malnutrition characterized by the coexistence of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency alongside excess body weight. Malnutrition is caused by inadequate nutrition, including micronutrients deficiencies, in which children living in rural areas and indigenous populations are disproportionately affected. Malnutrition has been associated with an increased risk of metabolic abnormalities like metabolic syndrome (MS), diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Nutrition-specific interventions are strategies that may reduce or avert malnutrition in children. However, limited intervention studies have been implemented in low-income populations, particularly in rural areas. Therefore, studies that include nutrition-specific intervention with enriched foods aimed at reducing micronutrients deficiencies and that can help in prevention or treatment of metabolic conditions in these populations are still needed. Based on the nutritional characterization carried out in school children in Chimalhuacán, Mexico State, a formula in a powder form was designed for children containing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids that can be used to enrich foods. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of a 4-week intervention with cookies enriched with a micronutrient formula on the nutritional status in Maya schoolchildren aged 8-10 years. Participants (n=84) were their own control, and the investigators measured, at pre- and post-intervention, anthropometric, clinical, biochemical, and cognitive parameters; diet and molecular parameters were assessed only at pre-intervention. Chi-square test, t-Student paired or Wilcoxon, ANCOVA, and logistic regression were performed to analyze the data.

A randomized controlled trial to test the effects of culturally appropriate nutrition communication for Mexican American women.

This study evaluates the effect of a fully virtual nutrition technical assistance training program for family child care home providers on the food they serve young children in their care and the food environment in their home. Half the providers will be randomly assigned to the nutrition program and the other half will receive a comparison on environmental health.

Randomized clinical study with a control group for assessing the decrease in the incidence of pneumonia, in a 12-month follow-up, in older people with cognitive impairment, risk of bronchial aspiration, risk of malnutrition and dependence to perform basic activities of daily living, through the design and implementation of an educational program. to the caregivers of these patients.

Malnutrition accounts for nearly half of child deaths worldwide. Children who are well-nourished are better able to learn in school, grow into more physically capable adults, and require less health care during childhood and adulthood. Moreover, it is difficult to make up for poor childhood nutrition later in life. I present here the proposal for an intervention that builds on a larger study in Ethiopia and will generate insights into the importance of behavioral factors related to persistent malnutrition in low-income settings, allowing for more targeted, cost-effective interventions in the future. Existing data from the study region, Oromia, Ethiopia, suggest that many mothers know how to correctly respond to a hypothetical situation where a young child exhibits poor growth. On the other hand, however, mothers frequently appear unaware about their own children's growth deficiencies. Together, these facts suggest that false beliefs about the appropriateness of a child's physical size are a more likely contributor to malnutrition, rather than a weak understanding of how to help a malnourished child. The proposed intervention will provide evidence on the relationship between caregiver beliefs about child nutritional status and the caregiver's behavior, ultimately analyzing how this relationship influences important nutritional choices for young children in a setting with limited resources. The study uses a two-by-two randomized trial; the first treatment is a cash transfer labeled for child food consumption, and the second is the provision of personalized information about the quality of the child's height compared to other children like those of the same age and gender in East Africa. Together the two treatment arms will provide evidence about the relative importance of behavioral versus resource barriers to improved nutrition. Better understanding of the interaction between these key factors is essential in addressing one of the foremost health issues facing developing countries today.

Objectives: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of implementing a malnutrition screening tool "CIPA" at the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (HUNSC), comparing the impact on health and the healthcare costs of hospitalised patients who are screened for malnutrition and of patients following standard clinical practice. Methodology: The study will consist of a controlled trial on patients admitted to the Internal Medicine and General and Digestive Surgery wards at the HUNSC. In both wards patients will be assigned to a control or to an intervention group. The control group will follow usual hospital clinical care, while the intervention group will be administered the screening tool "CIPA" for early detection of malnutrition cases and they will be treated according to the screening results. The following variables will be evaluated: length of stay in hospital, mortality, readmissions and in-hospital complications. Cost-effectiveness analysis will be undertaken measuring effectiveness by Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). Cost per patient will be measured by identifying health care resource utilisation, and the cost-effectiveness measure will be the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER). Investigators will calculate the incremental cost per QALY gained related to the intervention. This analysis will allow to quantify the costs (incurred and saved) related to the introduction of the malnutrition screening tool CIPA in the hospital context and to measure the health impact of screened patients.

The use of lipid-based nutrients (LNS), such as Nutributter or fortified spread (FS), have been associated with improved growth and development outcomes among infants in Ghana and Malawi. Modified versions of such supplements have been developed to improve their nutrient density and quality and to lower their costs. Such modified products have proven acceptable to infants and their guardians in Malawi and Ghana. In the present trial, the investigator aim to identify the lowest growth-promoting daily dose of modified LNS. Additionally, the investigators will test a hypothesis that LNS that does not contain milk promotes growth as well as milk-containing LNS when given for 12 months at a 10-40 g daily dose to 6-18 month old infants in rural Malawi.