Evaluating Bundling of Nutrition-specific Interventions

Summary

Background:

1. Burden: The prevalence of stunting among the under-five children in Bangladesh was \>55% in 1997, which reduced to 41.9% in 2011. This reduction took 14 years to achieve with existing interventions, and till today Bangladesh remains among the countries with the highest stunting prevalence.
2. Knowledge gap: In the Lancet series on Maternal and Child Nutrition, Bhutta et al (2013) modelled the effect of 10 direct interventions on lives saved and economic costs in 34 countries which contains 90% of the children with stunted growth. Their findings suggested that at 90% coverage, these interventions could cut down under-5 year mortality by 15% and avert one-fifth of stunting. The total additional annual cost was estimated at $9.6 billion. There is a dearth of primary research, however, to determine a feasible, effective bundle of interventions for developing countries.
3. Relevance: This study will review and test different sets of nutrition-specific intervention bundles in a cohort of pregnant women and the subsequent impact on the length-for-age Z score (LAZ) of their offspring from that pregnancy.

Hypothesis: Five selected nutrition-specific interventions implemented during early pregnancy and during first two years of child's life in different bundles will cause a shift of 0.4 in mean LAZ score among children at 24 months of age compared to those in comparison arm.

Methods: The investigators propose a community-based randomized trial (cRCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of different combinations of the five selected nutrition-specific interventions and identify the best combination for improving childhood LAZ. Selected interventions include prenatal nutrient supplementation; intensive counselling on prenatal nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding and timely complementary feeding; and nutrient supplementation during 6-23 months of child's age. The proposed study area is Habiganj district, Sylhet division. 125 clusters (each \~2000 population or \~450 households) will be selected from 12 homogeneous unions in 2 adjacent sub-districts. The clusters will then be randomly assigned to any one of the 5 study arms. Data would be collected at baseline and followed up, including on nutritional intake and anthropometric measurements of mothers and offspring. Primary outcome measure/variable would be mean LAZ of offspring at 24 months. Secondary outcome variables include nutritional intake during pregnancy, maternal weight gain, exclusive breast feeding up-to 6 months, and birth weight.

Implications: The investigators expect that the results will serve to inform and shape future health policy decisions related to promotion of maternal and child health.

Conditions

• Stunting in Under-2 Children

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Nutrition-specific Behaviour change communication (BCC)

Door-to-door counseling on nutrition during pregnancy and exclusive breastfeeding from enrolment into study till birth; exclusive breastfeeding and nutrition of lactating mothers during post-natal 6 months; timely and appropriate complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding until 2 years of child's age, and nutrition of lactating mothers during post-natal 6-24 months; all counseling would be supplemented with associated issues including hygiene and sanitation, mother's sleep and rest, maternal and child healthcare seeking etc.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Nutrient supplement to pregnant women (PNS)

A lipid-based micronutrient supplement (LNS) is packed in \~10g sachets. Formulation: Vegetable fat (soy), skimmed milk powder, peanuts, vitamin and mineral complex, sugar, stabilizer: fully hydrogenated vegetable fat, and antioxidant : tocopherols. Each sachet contains 70-75% of recommended dietary allowance for most of the micronutrients, including iron, folic acid, zinc, calcium, iodine, vitamins A, B1, B2, niacin, B12 etc. Dose: 1 sachet/pregnant woman/day starting from the first counseling session (GA \~125∓15 days) continued till birth of baby. Supplement should be taken with food in room temperature, and must not be heated, or mixed with hot food. To avoid overdose, respondents receiving this supplement should stop taking any other micronutrient supplement or drink.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Nutrienr supplement to children 6m to 2 years

A lipid-based micronutrient supplement (LNS) is packed in \~10g sachets. Formulation: Vegetable fat, skimmed milk powder, peanuts, sugar, vitamin and mineral complex, maltodextrin, and emulsifier: lecithin. Each sachet contains 70-75% of recommended dietary allowance for most of the micronutrients, including iron, folic acid, zinc, calcium, iodine, vitamins A, B1, B2, niacin, B12 etc. Each 20 g of LNS provide ≥4.46g LA (Linoleic Acid) and ≥0.42g ALA (α-Linolenic Acid). Dose: 2 sachets \~(10+10=20g)/child/day from 5th completed months (181 days) to 24 completed months of child's age. Supplement should be taken with food in room temperature, and must not be heated, or mixed with hot food. Supplement should be taken with food in room temperature, and must not be heated, or mixed with hot food. To avoid overdose, respondents receiving this supplement should stop taking any other micronutrient supplement or drink.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Department for International Development, United Kingdom

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• International Food Policy Research Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Sydney

  collaborator OTHER

• Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Max Age

49 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-11-30

Primary Completion

2019-01-31

Completion

2019-01-31

Countries

• Bangladesh

Study Locations