Peer-reviewed article
Poor neurodevelopment, nutritional and physical growth outcomes among children born to mothers with nodding syndrome.
Mary Nyakato, Shubaya Kasule Naggayi, Pamela Rosemary Akun, Sam Ononge, Alfred Odong et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compared children aged 0-5 years born to mothers with nodding syndrome (a severe neurological disorder) to children of unaffected mothers in Northern Uganda. Children whose mothers had nodding syndrome showed significantly worse neurodevelopmental outcomes, including lower scores in fine motor skills, receptive language, cognitive development, and attention. They also had worse nutritional status and physical growth, with 36% showing stunting compared to fewer in the comparison group.
Key points
- Children of mothers with nodding syndrome had significantly lower fine motor scores (37.5 vs 44.2, p=0.011)
- Receptive language scores were lower in children of affected mothers (37.8 vs 43.9, p=0.010)
- Overall cognitive development scores were significantly lower (74.4 vs 83.3, p=0.015)
- 35.9% of children whose mothers had nodding syndrome were stunted compared to fewer in the comparison group
- Weight-for-age and length/height-for-age z-scores were significantly lower in children of affected mothers (p=0.003 and p=0.001 respectively)
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study that cannot establish causation or determine whether poorer outcomes result from maternal neurological condition, cognitive deficits affecting caregiving, or other confounding factors. The study does not explore mechanisms or potential interventions.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Nodding syndrome (NS), a poorly understood severe neurological disorder develops in children. In Uganda, some NS cases have grown into child-bearing adults. Babies born to mothers with NS may be prone to impaired neurodevelopmental outcomes. Cognitive deficits in mothers with NS may further inhibit care offered to their children hence compromising neurocognitive development, physical growth, and behaviour. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to determine the neurodevelopmental, behavioural, nutritional, and physical growth outcomes of children whose mothers have nodding syndrome. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2021 and April 2022 in Northern Uganda. Children aged 0-5 years of mothers with NS were compared to those of mothers without NS, matched by age, gender and neighbouring residence. Neurodevelopment, behaviour, nutrition, and physical growth were assessed using standardized measures and t-tests employed for group comparisons of outcomes. RESULTS: Overall,106 children participated. Fifty-three (53) were offspring of mothers with NS and 53 of mothers without NS; having a mean age of 26.9 (2.22) and 27.5(2.12) months respectively. Children whose mothers have NS had significantly lower neurodevelopmental scores than those of NS-unaffected mothers in fine motor (37.5(12.1) vs 44.2(14.3), p = 0.011), receptive language (37.8(10.8) vs 43.9(12.9), p = 0.010), overall cognitive development (74.36(17.8) vs 83.34(19.6), p = 0.015), and attention (0.64(0.20) vs 0.76(0.15), p = 0.001). There were no differences in the behaviour scores. Children of mothers with NS also had significantly lower weight-for-age z scores (WAZ) (p = 0.003) and length/height-for-age z scores (LAZ/HAZ) (p = 0.001); with 19(35.9 %) of them stunted. CONCLUSION: Children whose mothers have NS have poorer neurodevelopmental, nutritional, and physical growth outcomes. Interventions to improve outcomes in these children are warranted.