Mycotoxin exposure, intestinal inflammation and childhood stunting in India

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Childhood stunting is recognised as 'one of the most significant impediments to human development' by the World Health Assembly and its aim to reduce global stunting rates by 40% by 2025 is now deemed unachievable. When growth is impaired in children at an early age, later development of cognitive capacity is also impacted and children are thought not to be able to reach their full potential. The first 1000 days of a child's life are crucial to determining the development in later life. Hence it is imperative that the multiple factors contributing to childhood stunting are identified, their interrelation understood and their route cause treated.Undernutrition is an obvious risk factor for childhood stunting, but simple nutritional interventions have failed to solve the problem. Multiple dietary and environmental risk factors are likely to contribute, and in this study we aim to unpick these complex links.The environment a child grows up in regarding access to clean water and basic sanitation as well as access to nutritious and safe food are likely to contribute to the healthy functioning of the child's digestive tract which will facilitate the utilisation of foods for the growth and development of the child.Hence the proposed project aims to follow children from birth up to two years of age and from two to five years of age and link multiple measures of child growth, health status and intestinal function with dietary intakes and exposure food contaminants. The study will be conducted in rural areas of southern India where stunting is prevalent.This study will identify the main contributors to stunting in children and will provide the necessary information to guide future intervention programmes aimed at improving the lives of children in affected areas and hence addressing the WHO childhood development targets.