A longitudinal study of household water, sanitation, and hygiene characteristics and environmental enteropathy markers in children less than 24 months in Iquitos, Peru

Natalie G. Exum, Gwenyth O Lee, Maribel Paredes Olórtegui, Pablo Penataro Yori, Mery Siguas Salas, Dixner Rengifo Trigoso, Josh M. Colston, Kellogg J. Schwab, Benjamin J.J. McCormick, Margaret Kosek

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Poor child gut health, resulting from a lack of access to an improved toilet or clean water, has been proposed as a biological mechanism underlying child stunting and oral vaccine failure. Characteristics related to household sanitation, water use, and hygiene were measured among a birth cohort of 270 children from peri-urban Iquitos Peru. These children had monthly stool samples and urine samples at four time points and serum samples at (2-4) time points analyzed for biomarkers related to intestinal inflammation and permeability. We found that less storage of fecal matter near the household along with a reliable water connection were associated with reduced inflammation, most prominently the fecal biomarker myeloperoxidase (MPO) (no sanitation facility compared with those with an onsite toilet had -0.43 log MPO, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.74, -0.13; and households with an intermittent connection versus those with a continuous supply had +0.36 log MPO,95%CI: 0.08, 0.63). These results provide preliminary evidence for the hypothesis that children less than 24 months of age living in unsanitary conditions will have elevated gut inflammation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)995-1004
Number of pages10
JournalAmerican Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume98
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • Virology
  • Infectious Diseases

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