Luận án tiến sĩ của NCS Khúc Thị Hiền

ABSTRACT OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

PhD student: Khuc Thi Hien

Thesis title: “Effective of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation on nutritional status and immune index of Thai ethnic children 36-59 months in Son La city, Son La province”

Specialization: Nutrition

Code: 9720401

Academic advisors:

1. Dr. Ha Anh Duc

2. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thi Nhung

Institution: National Institute of Nutrition

CONTENT

 I. INTRODUCTION

Preschool children aged 36-59 months are at risk of being exposed to many pathogens, so they are easily infected and malnourished. Intervention for micronutrient supplementation is one of the urgent and cost-effective solutions to improve the nutritional status and health of children.

Alpinia zerumbet a medicinal species used by people in many countries in dishes as well as in many folk remedies, has been studied to identify, isolate, and extract biological compounds with beneficial effects. Boost immunity, improve health. However, there is still not much research on the effects of Alpinia zerumbet on the health of children.

Son La, a poor mountainous province in the Northwest of Vietnam, has 54% of the Thai ethnic group. Child malnutrition rate in Son La province remains high in the Northwest region and compared to the whole country, malnutrition is especially common among ethnic minority children. Therefore, in order to have data to evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation as a basis for developing intervention solutions that contribute to reducing the rate of malnutrition, reducing the risk of diseases. of Thai children in disadvantaged areas, we conduct research on the topic with the following objectives:

1. Assessment of nutritional status of children aged 36-59 months in Son La city, Son La province.

2. Evaluation of the effect of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation on the nutritional status of Thai ethnic children 36-59 months.

3. Evaluation of the effect of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation on immune index (IgG, IgM) and infection (diarrhea, respiratory infection) of Thai ethnic children 36-59 months.

New contributions of the thesis:

The research provided important scientific data on the nutritional status of children aged 36-59 months from different ethnic groups in Son La city.

The research showed that after 6 months of intervention, multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation for Thai ethnic children at 36-59 months with stunting and stunting risk had the effect of improving weight and height, WAZ, HAZ, Hemoglobin and IgG levels. The intervention reduced the number of days in each episode of respiratory infections, and the total number of days with respiratory infections in the studied children.

 II.  RESEARCH SUBJECT AND METHOD

- Research subjects: The intervention was implemented on 36-59 month old Thai children, Hua La Kindergarten and Chieng Xom Kindergarten, Son La city, Son La province.

- Intervention period: from November 2015 to May 2016

- Research design:

Phase 1: A cross-sectional descriptive study to assess the nutritional status of children aged 36-59 months at 9 kindergartens in Son La city and assess dietary intake, anemia, Hb concentration, immuno concentration (IgG, IgM).

Phase 2: A controlled community intervention study: a controlled trial of daily multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation (the intervention group was supplemented with products, the control group was not supplement), monitor the situation of infections (diarrhea, respiratory infections) and evaluate the effectiveness after 6 months of intervention.

 III. MAIN RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Nutritional status of 2471 children aged 36-59 months at 9 preschools, Son La city:

The mean weight and height of boys are 14.12 ± 1.95 kg and 95.86 ± 4.74 cm, girls are 13.62 ± 1.72 kg and 95.03 ± 4.68 cm.

The Z-score of the children was all less than 0: WAZ was -1.12 ± 0.87, HAZ was -1.57 ± 0.85, WHZ was -0.31 ± 1, 13.

Malnutrition status of children aged 36-59 months in Son La city is as follows: stunting 31.0%, underweight 13.3% and wasting 5.4%, overweight-obesity was 3.2%. The total number of children suffering from one or a combination of forms of malnutrition is 38.64%.

Stunted malnutrition of children aged 36-59 months in Son La city is still very high compared to the threshold for classification of malnutrition in the community. Children of the Thai ethnic group have the highest rate of stunting among the three ethnic groups (33.6%). Children in suburban areas have higher rates of stunting than children in urban areas.

Effect of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation on nutritional status of Thai children aged 36-59 months:

After 6 months of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation, the difference in weight, height, WAZ index, HAZ, hemoglobin concentration of the intervention group compared to the control group was 0.4 kg weight,  0.7cm height, 0.27 WAZ and 0.34 HAZ.

Intervention during 6 months has not shown any effect on prevention, treatment of malnutrition as well as anemia in preschool children.

Efficacy of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplementation on immune index of IgG, IgM and infections (diarrhea and respiratory infections) of Thai children aged 36-59 months:

After adjusting for factors affecting research efficiency, the intervention group had higher IgG levels than the control group 19 mg/dL (p<0.05), the difference in IgM concentration was not large (p>0.05).

Supplementing with multi-micronutrients and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves for a period of 6 months reduced the average number of days in each episode of respiratory infections, and the total number of days of respiratory infections in the intervention group compared to the control group.

 IV.  RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Based on the results of the study on growth, hemoglobin levels and immunity in children 36-59 months, it is necessary to increase the use of multi-micronutrient and powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves supplements for children, especially for with ethnic minority children in disadvantaged areas with high rates of malnutrition and infections.

2. Continue to conduct studies to evaluate the effectiveness of multi-micronutrient combined with powder of Alpinia zerumbet leaves on a broader scale, for a longer time in different target groups to have better results solid scientific evidence of the product's effectiveness.