Peer-reviewed article
Effect of Nutritional Rehabilitation on Neurodevelopmental Status of Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)
Tufail Ahmed Soomro, . Bela, Ubedullah Bahalkani, Rizwana Qureshi, Nizamuddin Bozdar et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study followed 150 children aged 1–6 years with severe acute malnutrition at a paediatric department in Khairpur Medical College, Sindh. The children received eight weeks of standardised nutritional rehabilitation, including therapeutic feeding, micronutrient supplements and management of complications. Weight, arm circumference and weight-for-height scores improved, as did cognitive, motor, language and social development scores. The share of children with normal development rose from 20.0% to 53.3%. The authors conclude that nutritional rehabilitation improves both growth and development and that early identification and timely treatment matter.
Key points
- Mean weight rose from 7.3 ± 1.4 kg to 9.2 ± 1.6 kg (p < 0.001).
- Mean MUAC rose from 10.4 ± 0.9 cm to 12.5 ± 1.1 cm (p < 0.001).
- Weight-for-height Z-score improved from −3.42 ± 0.51 to −2.18 ± 0.47 (p < 0.001).
- Neurodevelopmental scores improved significantly in all four domains: cognitive, motor, language and social (p < 0.001).
- Children with normal development increased from 20.0% to 53.3%, and moderate developmental delay fell from 33.3% to 14.7%.
Limitations
The study has no comparison group, so improvements cannot be attributed to the rehabilitation alone rather than to natural recovery, ageing or other factors. It was a single-site, six-month study, so it says nothing about long-term developmental outcomes or whether results apply elsewhere. The document does not name the developmental assessment tool used.
Abstract
Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a major public health problem in children, contributing to high morbidity, mortality, and impaired neurodevelopment. While nutritional rehabilitation improves survival and physical growth, its effect on cognitive, motor, language, and social development remains inadequately explored. Objective: To evaluate the impact of nutritional rehabilitation on neurodevelopmental outcomes in children aged 1–6 years with SAM. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted over six months in the Department of Paediatrics of Khairpur Medical College, Sindh. A total of 150 children aged 1–6 years diagnosed with SAM (according to WHO criteria: weight-for-height Z-score < −3 SD or mid-upper arm circumference < 11.5 cm) were enrolled. Participants received eight weeks of standardized nutritional rehabilitation, including therapeutic feeding and micronutrient supplementation, along with management of associated complications. Anthropometric parameters and neurodevelopmental domains (cognitive, motor, language, and social) were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23, applying paired t-tests and chi-square tests, with p<0.05 considered significant. Results: Significant improvements were observed in weight (7.3 ± 1.4 vs. 9.2 ± 1.6 kg), MUAC (10.4 ± 0.9 vs. 12.5 ± 1.1 cm), and weight-for-height Z-score (−3.42 ± 0.51 vs. −2.18 ± 0.47) (p < 0.001). Neurodevelopmental scores improved significantly across all domains (p < 0.001). The proportion of children with normal development increased from 20.0% to 53.3%, while moderate developmental delay decreased from 33.3% to 14.7%. Conclusions: Nutritional rehabilitation significantly improves both growth and neurodevelopment in children with SAM. Early identification and timely intervention are crucial for optimal developmental recovery.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Eight weeks of standardised nutritional rehabilitation, including therapeutic feeding, micronutrient supplementation and management of associated complications
- Population
- 150 children aged 1–6 years diagnosed with SAM (WHO criteria) at the Department of Paediatrics, Khairpur Medical College, Sindh
Key finding
Weight rose from 7.3 to 9.2 kg and weight-for-height Z-score from −3.42 to −2.18 (p < 0.001)
Soomro et al. · OpenAlex · 30 Sept 2026