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Growth recovery and faltering through early adolescence in low- and middle-income countries: Determinants and implications for cognitive development

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  • Georgiadis, Andreas
  • Benny, Liza
  • Duc, Le Thuc
  • Galab, Sheikh
  • Reddy, Prudhvikar
  • Woldehanna, Tassew

Abstract

Child chronic undernutrition, as measured by stunting, is prevalent in low- and middle-income countries and is among the major threats to child development. While stunting and its implications for cognitive development have been considered irreversible beyond early childhood there is a lack of consensus in the literature on this, as there is some evidence of recovery from stunting and that this recovery may be associated with improvements in cognition. Less is known however, about the drivers of growth recovery and the aspects of recovery linked to cognitive development. In this paper we investigate the factors associated with growth recovery and faltering through age 12 years and the implications of the incidence, timing, and persistence of post-infancy recovery from stunting for cognitive development using longitudinal data from Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. We find that the factors most systematically associated with accelerated growth both before and after early childhood and across countries include mother's height, household living standards and shocks, community wages, food prices, and garbage collection. Our results suggest that post-infancy recovery from stunting is more likely to be systematically associated with higher achievement scores across countries when it is persistent and that associations between growth trajectories and cognitive achievement in middle childhood do not persist through early adolescence across countries. Overall, our findings indicate that growth after early childhood is responsive to changes in the household and community environments and that growth promotion after early childhood may yield improvements in child cognitive development.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgiadis, Andreas & Benny, Liza & Duc, Le Thuc & Galab, Sheikh & Reddy, Prudhvikar & Woldehanna, Tassew, 2017. "Growth recovery and faltering through early adolescence in low- and middle-income countries: Determinants and implications for cognitive development," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 81-90.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:179:y:2017:i:c:p:81-90
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.02.031
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Harold Alderman & John Hoddinott & Bill Kinsey, 2006. "Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 450-474, July.
    2. Christiaensen, Luc & Alderman, Harold, 2004. "Child Malnutrition in Ethiopia: Can Maternal Knowledge Augment the Role of Income?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 287-312, January.
    3. Petrou, Stavros & Kupek, Emil, 2010. "Poverty and childhood undernutrition in developing countries: A multi-national cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(7), pages 1366-1373, October.
    4. Schott, Whitney B. & Crookston, Benjamin T. & Lundeen, Elizabeth A. & Stein, Aryeh D. & Behrman, Jere R., 2013. "Periods of child growth up to age 8 years in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam: Key distal household and community factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 278-287.
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    Cited by:

    1. Luca Maria Pesando, 2022. "A Four-Country Study on the Relationship Between Parental Educational Homogamy and Children’s Health from Infancy to Adolescence," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 251-284, February.
    2. Perkins, Jessica M. & Kim, Rockli & Krishna, Aditi & McGovern, Mark & Aguayo, Victor M. & Subramanian, S.V., 2017. "Understanding the association between stunting and child development in low- and middle-income countries: Next steps for research and intervention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 101-109.
    3. Toshiaki Aizawa, 2020. "Trajectory of inequality of opportunity in child height growth: Evidence from the Young Lives study," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(7), pages 165-202.
    4. Duc, Le Thuc, 2019. "Household wealth and gender gap widening in height: Evidence from adolescents in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 208-215.
    5. Casale, Daniela & Desmond, Chris & Richter, Linda M., 2020. "Catch-up growth in height and cognitive function: Why definitions matter," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).

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