Browsing by Author "Muhoozi, Grace"

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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 stunting concurrent with wasting or being overweight:
    (Elsevier Inc., 2021-04) Iversen, O. Per; Ngari, Moses; Westerberg, C. Ane; Muhoozi, Grace; Atukunda, Prudence
    Objectives: There is paucity of longitudinal data on combined anthropometric deficiencies in children. Herein, we present data on child stunting concurrent with wasting or being overweight among children in a 6-y follow-up study of a maternal education trial in rural Uganda. Methods: We previously performed a randomized controlled trial where half of 511 mothers of 6- to 8-mo children were given a 6-mo education concerning nutrition, hygiene, and child stimulation. Anthropometry and prevalence of stunting with wasting or being overweight were determined. We applied multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression models and x2 statistic to assess the effects of the intervention and trend in prevalence over time, respectively. Results: Complete data sets were obtained from 307 of 511 children (60%). The prevalence of stunting and wasting or being overweight was <7% both, and did not change significantly over time. Notably, the prevalence of concurrent stunting and being overweight was significantly reduced in the intervention group compared with the controls among children age 36 mo and 60 to 72 mo, with corresponding odds ratios at 0.24 (95% confidence interval, 0.060.90) and 0.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.010.82), respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of stunting concurrent with wasting or being overweight remained low during the observation period. The intervention may have reduced concurrent stunting and being overweight over time. Keywords: Anthropometry, Children, Maternal education, Overweight, Randomized trial, Stunting, Uganda, Wasting