Relation Between Hair Arsenic Level and Malnutrition in Children Under 5 Years Attending Nutrition Clinic of the Assiut University Children Hospital

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to identify the association between arsenic exposure and stunting in children under 5 years of age and to identify its effect on their cognitive function. The current study was a prospective case control study conducted in the Outpatient Nutrition Clinic at the Assiut University Children's Hospital for a 6‐month period. The weight and height of children were measured to determine nutritional status using the weight‐for‐age Z‐score (WAZ) or height‐for‐age Z‐score (HAZ) using the WHO Anthro software. Children who were diagnosed with moderate and severe stunting were compared with an age‐ and sex‐matched control group. Dietary profiles and cognitive functions were assessed using questionnaires that were translated from the original language (English) into the target language (Arabic). Hair samples were collected for the detection of arsenic level among the selected stunted children and their corresponding control group. 56.7% of the examined children were diagnosed as stunted cases. Statistically significant high arsenic levels in hair were found among the stunted children compared with the controls. The median arsenic level was 0.083 mg/kg in stunted cases while in controls, it was 0.042. It was found that 43.4% of stunted children had high arsenic levels in their hair, 50% of them were in the age group (25–36 months), 55% of them were female, and 75.0% of the children's families were residing in rural areas; these differences were statistically insignificant. Delayed development in communication, problem‐solving, and personal‐social domains was higher in children with high arsenic levels compared to children with low arsenic levels but was not statistically significant. A significantly positive weak correlation was found between arsenic level in hair and frequency of artificial snacks consumption. As a conclusion, stunting was diagnosed in 56.7% of the study sample and was associated with high arsenic level in the hair samples of the affected children.