TY - JOUR
T1 - Biomarkers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction among Children in Rural Bangladesh
AU - Campbell, Rebecca K.
AU - Schulze, Kerry J.
AU - Shaikh, Saijuddin
AU - Mehra, Sucheta
AU - Ali, Hasmot
AU - Wu, Lee
AU - Raqib, Rubhana
AU - Baker, Sarah
AU - Labrique, Alain
AU - West, Keith P.
AU - Christian, Parul
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by USDA NIFA/FANEP (Award 2010-38418-21732), National Institutes of Health (Award R21HD081503), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (GH614), and Johns Hopkins Sight and Life Global Nutrition Research Institute.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/7/1
Y1 - 2017/7/1
N2 - Objectives: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) may inhibit growth and development in low- and middle-income countries, but available assessment methodologies limit its study. In rural Bangladesh, we measured EED using the widely used lactulose mannitol ratio (L:M) test and a panel of intestinal and systemic health biomarkers to evaluate convergence among biomarkers and describe risk factors for EED. Methods: In 539 18-month-old children finishing participation in a randomized food supplementation trial, serum, stool, and urine collected after lactulose and mannitol dosing were analyzed for biomarkers of intestinal absorption, inflammation, permeability and repair, and systemic inflammation. EED scores for each participant were developed using principal component analysis and partial least squares regression. Associations between scores and L:M and with child sociodemographic and health characteristics were evaluated using regression analysis. Results: EED prevalence (L:M>0.07) was 39.0%; 60% had elevated acute phase proteins (C-reactive protein >5 mg/L or α-1 acid glycoprotein >100 mg/dL). Correlations between intestinal biomarkers were low, with the highest between myeloperoxidase and α-1 antitrypsin (r=0.33, P<0.01), and biomarker values did not differ by supplementation history. A 1-factor partial least squares model with L:M as the dependent variable explained only 8.6% of L:M variability. In adjusted models, L:M was associated with child sex and socioeconomic status index, whereas systemic inflammation was predicted mainly by recent illness, not EED. Conclusions: Impaired intestinal health is widespread in this setting of prevalent stunting, but a panel of serum and stool biomarkers demonstrated poor agreement with L:M. Etiologies of intestinal and systemic inflammation are likely numerous and complex in resource-poor settings, underscoring the need for a better case definition with corresponding diagnostic methods to further the study of EED.
AB - Objectives: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) may inhibit growth and development in low- and middle-income countries, but available assessment methodologies limit its study. In rural Bangladesh, we measured EED using the widely used lactulose mannitol ratio (L:M) test and a panel of intestinal and systemic health biomarkers to evaluate convergence among biomarkers and describe risk factors for EED. Methods: In 539 18-month-old children finishing participation in a randomized food supplementation trial, serum, stool, and urine collected after lactulose and mannitol dosing were analyzed for biomarkers of intestinal absorption, inflammation, permeability and repair, and systemic inflammation. EED scores for each participant were developed using principal component analysis and partial least squares regression. Associations between scores and L:M and with child sociodemographic and health characteristics were evaluated using regression analysis. Results: EED prevalence (L:M>0.07) was 39.0%; 60% had elevated acute phase proteins (C-reactive protein >5 mg/L or α-1 acid glycoprotein >100 mg/dL). Correlations between intestinal biomarkers were low, with the highest between myeloperoxidase and α-1 antitrypsin (r=0.33, P<0.01), and biomarker values did not differ by supplementation history. A 1-factor partial least squares model with L:M as the dependent variable explained only 8.6% of L:M variability. In adjusted models, L:M was associated with child sex and socioeconomic status index, whereas systemic inflammation was predicted mainly by recent illness, not EED. Conclusions: Impaired intestinal health is widespread in this setting of prevalent stunting, but a panel of serum and stool biomarkers demonstrated poor agreement with L:M. Etiologies of intestinal and systemic inflammation are likely numerous and complex in resource-poor settings, underscoring the need for a better case definition with corresponding diagnostic methods to further the study of EED.
KW - South Asia
KW - biomarkers
KW - inflammation
KW - stunting
KW - undernutrition
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U2 - 10.1097/MPG.0000000000001557
DO - 10.1097/MPG.0000000000001557
M3 - Article
C2 - 28644348
AN - SCOPUS:85014682842
SN - 0277-2116
VL - 65
SP - 40
EP - 46
JO - Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
JF - Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
IS - 1
ER -