From 1969-77, a longitudinal study of growth and development was carried out in four Guatemalan villages. This effort showed that nutrition interventions improve the physical growth and mental development of young children. In 1988-89, when the former subjects of this study were adolescents and young adults (age range 10-26 yrs.), the investigators carried out a follow-up study to identify the long term benefits of better nutrition in early childhood. That study showed that better nutrition in childhood improves the status of young adults as measured by larger body size, greater work capacity and improved intellectual functioning and school achievement. In the current study, the investigators are studying the offspring of the women who participated, as young children, in the 1969-77 study. The main hypothesis guiding this research is that better nutrition in early life enhances the future capacity of women to bear healthy newborns and the ability to care for them and, thus, the growth and development of the next generation. The investigators note that the intention to document the mechanisms by which improved childhood nutrition benefits the next generation is a central and distinctive objective of the project. Data collection includes maternal body composition, lactational performance, birthweight and newborn status, child growth and motor development, postnatal morbidity, diets of mothers and children, cognitive assessments in adults and children, maternal-child behaviors, and socio-educational aspects. The investigators state that by the time this application is reviewed, the field data collection for this 3-year longitudinal study in children less than three years of age and their mothers will be completed. However, due to a somewhat longer start-up time than anticipated, the investigators will continue to collect data until June 1999. With this application, the investigators propose to prepare for, complete and write-up the analyses of this complex study. They note that this ambitious effort will link mothers and children of the original study, who are now grandmothers and mothers, with the current generation of children. At the end of the study, over 400 mother-child pairs will be available for analysis at any age of interest. They note that this will provide adequate power to identify effects of substantive importance. The investigators also note that the wealth of data they have collected will also allow investigation of many research questions that complement the main intergenerational hypotheses. The investigators also state that the study is unique in being the first comprehensive assessment of the intergenerational effects of improved nutrition in early childhood. They conclude that the results of the proposed analyses will fill key scientific gaps and inform policies and programs aimed at improving the health of future generations in the United States and throughout the world.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01HD029927-06
Application #
6052339
Study Section
Epidemiology and Disease Control Subcommittee 2 (EDC)
Program Officer
Grave, Gilman D
Project Start
1995-03-15
Project End
2002-04-30
Budget Start
2000-05-01
Budget End
2001-04-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$377,673
Indirect Cost
Name
Emory University
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
042250712
City
Atlanta
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30322
Webb, Aimee L; Ramakrishnan, Usha; Stein, Aryeh D et al. (2010) Greater years of maternal schooling and higher scores on academic achievement tests are independently associated with improved management of child diarrhea by rural Guatemalan mothers. Matern Child Health J 14:799-806
Webb, Aimee L; Sellen, Daniel W; Ramakrishnan, Usha et al. (2009) Maternal years of schooling but not academic skills is independently associated with infant-feeding practices in a cohort of rural Guatemalan women. J Hum Lact 25:297-306
Webb, Amy L; Stein, Aryeh D; Ramakrishnan, Usha et al. (2006) A simple index to measure hygiene behaviours. Int J Epidemiol 35:1469-77
Neufeld, Lynnette M; Haas, Jere D; Grajeda, Ruben et al. (2006) Last menstrual period provides the best estimate of gestation length for women in rural Guatemala. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 20:290-8
Kuklina, Elena V; Ramakrishnan, Usha; Stein, Aryeh D et al. (2006) Early childhood growth and development in rural Guatemala. Early Hum Dev 82:425-33
Neufeld, Lynnette M; Haas, Jere D; Grajeda, Ruben et al. (2004) Changes in maternal weight from the first to second trimester of pregnancy are associated with fetal growth and infant length at birth. Am J Clin Nutr 79:646-52
Stein, Aryeh D; Barnhart, Huiman X; Wang, Meng et al. (2004) Comparison of linear growth patterns in the first three years of life across two generations in Guatemala. Pediatrics 113:e270-5
Neufeld, L M; Haas, J D; Grajeda, R et al. (2004) Ultrasound measurement of fetal size in rural Guatemala. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 84:220-8
Kuklina, Elena V; Ramakrishnan, Usha; Stein, Aryeh D et al. (2004) Growth and diet quality are associated with the attainment of walking in rural Guatemalan infants. J Nutr 134:3296-300
Li, Haojie; DiGirolamo, Ann M; Barnhart, Huiman X et al. (2004) Relative importance of birth size and postnatal growth for women's educational achievement. Early Hum Dev 76:1-16

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