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Parental IQ and cognitive development of malnourished Indonesian children

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 59, pages 618–620 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

A cross-sectional study of children in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, was conducted to examine the relationship between malnutrition history, child IQ, school attendance, socioeconomic status, parental education and parental IQ. In unadjusted analyses, severely stunted children had significantly lower IQ scores than mild–moderately stunted children. This effect was significant when stunting, school attendance and parental education were included in multivariable models but was attenuated when parental IQ was included. Our research underscores the importance of accounting for parental IQ as a critical covariate when modeling the association between childhood stunting and IQ.

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Acknowledgements

Marjorie Geary, Pak Alexius Hernadi, and multiple nurses made the study possible through their work on the village-health program and support of the study. Ibu Marsiana adeptly provided all translating and research assistance. Dr Sara Sparrow helped design the study and Dr Paul Geary assisted with implementation. Dr Cam Webb assisted at all stages. Funding was provided by the Yale Council for South East Asian Studies and the Yale School of Medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University School of Medicine, c/o Yale Prevention Research Center, Derby, CT, USA

    K E Webb & D L Katz

  2. Department of Mathematics, Clark Science Center, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA

    N J Horton

Authors
  1. K E Webb
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  2. N J Horton
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  3. D L Katz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K E Webb.

Additional information

Guarantor: KE Webb.

Contributors: KW designed study, conducted all field research and primarily wrote paper. NH designed statistical analyses and assisted with planning and write-up. DK advised throughout process of research design and assisted with analysis and write-up.

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Webb, K., Horton, N. & Katz, D. Parental IQ and cognitive development of malnourished Indonesian children. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 618–620 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602103

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