Sentinel Surveillance of Malnutrition, Niger

May 21, 2008 updated by: Epicentre

Sentinel Surveillance of Acute Malnutrition in the Region of Maradi, Niger, Children Under 5: Impact of a Preventive Intervention

Malnutrition is a critical public health problem in developing countries. Malnutrition may be linked to more than one half of the deaths in children under 5 years old. In July 2001, after an intervention related to a measles epidemic, Medecins sans Frontieres-France opened a nutritional program in Maradi, in the South of Niger. The introduction of ready to use therapeutic foods (RUTF), in particular Plumpy'Nut (Nutriset, France) allowed for the treatment of the majority of children at their homes using ambulatory treatment. Children with complicated cases were cared for in an inpatient center. With ambulatory treatment the number of children cared for in the MSF program reached close to 70000 in 2006.

This study aimed to assess the effect of a 3-month distribution of RUTF in the context of a preventative supplementary feeding program. The primary hypotheses were that short-term RUTF supplementation at the village-level would prevent declines in weight-for-height and reduce the incidence of wasting in children 6 to 60 mo of age over a period of 8 mo. Because RUTF may have additional health effects, the intervention effect on height-for-age, stunting, mortality and morbidity from malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infection were also examined.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Malnutrition

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

6 months to 4 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

All children resident in randomized villages 6-59 months

Exclusion Criteria:

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
weight-for-height in children 6 to 60 mo of age Time Frame: 8 months	8 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Epicentre

Collaborators

Medecins Sans Frontieres, Netherlands

Ministry of Health, Niger

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Rebecca F Grais, Epicentre

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Isanaka S, Nombela N, Djibo A, Poupard M, Van Beckhoven D, Gaboulaud V, Guerin PJ, Grais RF. Effect of preventive supplementation with ready-to-use therapeutic food on the nutritional status, mortality, and morbidity of children aged 6 to 60 months in Niger: a cluster randomized trial. JAMA. 2009 Jan 21;301(3):277-85. doi: 10.1001/jama.2008.1018.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

August 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2008

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 26, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 21, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

May 22, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)