RVC researchers link parasitic infection to children’s stunted growth

RVC researchers have found links between exposure to parasitic infection and stunted growth in children.

Analysing current literature and research, the team said its findings suggest human exposure to parasitic disease from conception to two years old contributes to childhood stunting, with the evidence revealing more studies and trials on the role of parasites are now needed.

Stunting is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as falling below the -2 standard deviations from the height-for-age WHO child growth standards median.

It is estimated 149.2 million children below the age of five, or a quarter of children globally, were physically stunted in 2020. Stunting can lead to suboptimal neurocognitive development and reductions in intellectual capacity.

Little research

Little research has been carried out previously on the connection of parasites to stunting, but a team reviewed current literature and established biological mechanisms connecting infection and childhood stunting.

Among the pathways they found, parasitic infection and the subsequent immune activation may impact linear growth. Composition of the gut microbiome may also be influenced by gastrointestinal parasites, leading to changes in digestion and energy use that can add to malnutrition and stunting.

Isobel Gabain, lead researcher and RVC PhD student, said: “During the first 1,000 days, a child is very vulnerable to environmental insults, after which, linear height is more difficult to salvage.

“Childhood stunting or linear growth failure is a marker of a deficient environment, and is likely, at least in part, to result from parasitic infection (often with more than a single species) of the mother during pregnancy and child in the very early years.”

Vulnerable populations

Isobel added: “Even with sufficient and nutritious food, children living in environments where diseases thrive and poor maternal health is commonplace, stunting remains. Therefore, we must scrutinise the role of disease – particularly chronic infections, such as those caused by parasites.

“Our research illustrates a number of pathways leading from parasitic infection to stunting and the need for more longitudinal studies on vulnerable populations. Only then will we be able to understand the role of parasites and, subsequently, how to effectively treat and/or prevent childhood stunting.”

The study, in Trends in Parasitology, is online now.