Browsing by Author "Broek, J van den Tim"

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    Aflatoxins:
    (MDPI, 2020-02) Wacoo, Paul Alex; Atukunda, Prudence; Muhoozi, Grace; Braster, Martin; Wagner, Marijke; Broek, J van den Tim; Sybesma, Wilbert; Westerberg, C. Ane; Iversen, Ole Per; Kort, Remco
    Chronic exposure of children in sub-Saharan Africa to aflatoxins has been associated with low birth weight, stunted growth, immune suppression, and liver function damage. Lactobacillus species have been shown to reduce aflatoxin contamination during the process of food fermentation. Twenty-three Lactobacillus strains were isolated from fecal samples obtained from a cohort of rural Ugandan children at the age of 54 to 60 months, typed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and characterized in terms of their ability to bind aflatoxin B1 in vitro. Evidence for chronic exposure of these children to aflatoxin B1 in the study area was obtained by analysis of local foods (maize flour and peanuts), followed by the identification of the breakdown product aflatoxin M1 in their urine samples. Surprisingly, Lactobacillus in the gut microbiota of 140 children from the same cohort at 24 and 36 months showed the highest positive correlation coefficient with stunting among all bacterial genera identified in the stool samples. This correlation was interpreted to be associated with dietary changes from breastfeeding to plant-based solid foods that pose an additional risk for aflatoxin contamination, on one hand, and lead to increased intake of Lactobacillus species on the other. Keywords: Stunting; aflatoxin B1; Lactic acid bacteria; aflatoxin binding; gut microbiota
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    Child development, growth and microbiota :
    (Journal of global health, 2019) Atukunda, Prudence; Muhoozi, K. M. Grace; Broek, J van den Tim; Kort, Remco; Diep, M Lien; Kaaya, N Archileo; Iversen, O Per; Westerberg, C Ane
    Background Undernutrition impairs child development outcomes and growth. In this follow-up study of an open cluster-randomized intervention trial we examined the effects of an education package delivered to mothers in rural Uganda on their children’s development, growth and gut microbiota at 36 months of age. Methods: The parental trial included 511 mother-child pairs recruited when the children were 6-8 months. In that trial, a nutrition, stimulation and hygiene education was delivered to mothers in the intervention group while the control group received routine health care. A follow-up sample of 155 pairs (intervention n=77, control n=78) were re-enrolled when the children were 24 months. Developmental outcomes were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) composite scores for cognitive (primary endpoint), language and motor development. Development outcomes were also evaluated using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Other outcomes included growth and gut microbiota composition. Results The demographic characteristics were not different (P>0.05) between the intervention and control groups and similar to those of the parental study. The intervention group had higher BSID-III scores than controls, with mean difference 10.13 (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.31-17.05, P=0.002); 7.59 (1.62-13.66, P=0.01); 9.00 (2.92-15.40, P=0.005), for cognitive, language and motor composite scores, respectively. An improvement in the intervention compared to the control group was obtained for both the ASQ and the MSEL scores. The mean difference in height-for-age z-score was higher in the intervention compared to the control group: 0.50 (0.25-0.75, P=0.0001). Gut microbiota composition did not differ significantly between the two study groups. Conclusions The maternal education intervention had positive effects on child development and growth at three years, but did not alter gut microbiota composition. This intervention may be applicable in other low-resource settings.