Relating anthropometric indicators to brain structure in 2-month-old Bangladeshi infants growing up in poverty: A pilot study

摘要: Abstract Anthropometric indicators, including stunting, underweight, and wasting, have previously been associated with poor neurocognitive outcomes. This link may exist because malnutrition infection, which are known to affect height weight, also impact brain structure according animal models. However, a relationship between anthropometric indicators structural measures has not tested yet, perhaps wasting uncommon in higher-resource settings. Further, diminished growth prevalent low-resource settings, where biological psychosocial hazards most severe, one might expect additional links of poverty, anthropometry, structure. To begin examine these relationships, we conducted an MRI study 2-3-month-old infants growing up the extremely impoverished urban setting Dhaka, Bangladesh. The sample size was relatively small challenges investigating infant needed be realized resolved before introducing larger cohort. Initially, fifty-four underwent T1 sequences using 3T MRI, resulting images were segmented into gray white matter maps, carefully evaluated for accurate tissue labeling by pediatric neuroradiologist. Gray volumes from 29 (79 ​± ​10 days-of-age; F/M ​= ​12/17), whose segmentations high quality, submitted semi-partial correlation analyses measured height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), weight-for-height (WHZ) scores. Positive correlations (after adjusting chronological age sex correcting multiple comparisons) observed volume HAZ WAZ; however, WHZ correlated any measure volume. No associations income-to-needs or maternal education volumetric measures, suggesting that poverty total this sample. Overall, results provide first infancy. Challenges conducting developmental neuroimaging country described.