In child health, few issues are as interconnected as malnutrition and infectious diseases. Childhood is the period when these health problems are most closely linked. Like facets of a diamond, malnutrition and infectious disease align to braid a vulnerability that can intertwine growth and development in permanent ways if left unchecked. Mastering this link holds the key to more effective health strategies for combatting childhood malnutrition and infectious diseases. This article outlines how malnutrition puts children at risk for infectious diseases, how this risk manifests, and steps to mitigate risk.
The Impact of Malnutrition on Children’s Health
Malnutrition includes undernutrition (ie, stunting, wasting, and underweight) and overnutrition (ie, obesity) that are due to insufficient intake of nutrients. Undernutrition and overnutrition both increase the risk of various disorders and deaths. Malnutrition encompasses both undernutrition and overnutrition, highlighting their interconnectedness. These forms of malnutrition have adverse effects on all human organs, but undernutrition is of particular concern for infectious diseases.
1. Impaired Immune Function
Irrespective of the underlying cause, malnutrition can have a direct effect on children’s susceptibility to infection due to the vital role that various nutrients, including vitamins (eg vitamins A, C, and D), minerals (eg zinc and iron), and proteins, play in the immune response. Children whose bodies are deficient in these nutrients are likely to have a weakened immune response towards infections.
- Vitamin A: is necessary for the maintenance of the epithelial barriers of mucosal surfaces; vitamin A deficiency also disrupts immune function in ways that make some children more vulnerable to respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, and, in severe cases, blindness.
- Zinc: This mineral fuels the growth and function of immune cells. Zinc-deprived children have more pneumonia and other infections. They also have delayed wound healing.
- Iron: Without enough iron in the blood to carry oxygen, the immune system becomes sluggish. People with iron-deficiency anemia become sick more easily.
2. Reduced Nutrient Absorption
Not only does malnutrition increase the risk of gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, diarrhea also worsens nutrient depletion by interfering with nutrient absorption. Chronic diarrhea, common in malnourished children, depletes vital nutrients and perpetuates the cycle of malnutrition and heightened infection risk.
3. Stunted Growth and Development
Chronic undernutrition also stunts growth; in studies that looked at children from birth to adolescence, stunted growth was a predictor of poorer school performance well into childhood, poorer cognitive outcomes, and poorer recovery from infection. Stunted growth commonly indicates chronic malnutrition, which increases morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases.
The Cycle of Malnutrition and Infection
And the vicious cycle of malnutrition and infections is difficult to escape. Poor nutrition weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of infections. These, in turn, can worsen the nutritional status by increasing nutrient demand, decreasing appetite, and draining nutrients through diarrhea and vomiting.
1. Increased Infection Risk
One reason why malnourished children are more likely to get sick from infectious diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, and malaria is that hungry children initially then get sick from one of these infectious diseases are far more likely to suffer deep, drowning complications (measles virus and malaria both increase body fever and diarrhea, each of which can exacerbate malnutrition).
2. Prolonged Recovery
When malnourished children do get infected, they take longer to recover. Their immune systems are weak, allowing pathogens to take a stronger hold and their bodies have fewer reserves from which they can draw to repair themselves once the illness has run its course.
3. Socioeconomic Factors
Malnutrition and infectious diseases are extensively linked with socioeconomic aspects. Malnutrition and infectious diseases highly depend on socioeconomic conditions such as poverty, lack of access to clean water, sanitation, healthcare, etc. Families with low income sometimes cannot afford to provide the nutrition that their children need, and they cannot access medical care when necessary.
Strategies for Breaking the Cycle
There is no simple solution to the problem. Neither malnutrition nor the infectious diseases, often lethal, that accompany it, can be tackled with one-size-fits-all approaches. Addressing the nexus would allude to strategies that attempt to improve both immediate needs and underlying causes, involving both short-term direct interventions and broader, more systemic changes.
1. Nutritional Interventions
These targeted interventions to improve nutrition could help reduce the vulnerability to infectious diseases:
- Supplementation Programmes: Delivering key vitamins and nutrients such as vitamin A, zinc, and iron can boost immune responses, and reduce the risk of infections. Supplementation programs have helped to reduce child mortality and improve health overall.
- Fortified Foods: When more widespread deficiencies are known to exist, staple foods can be fortified with trace nutrients. Fortifying cereals is a good way to reduce iron- and vitamin-A-deficiencies.
- Improved Dietary Practices: Promote healthy diets that consist of a wide range of nutrient-rich foods, as well as appropriate infant feeding practices – giving breast milk to newborns and continuing it for two years, complementary feeding practices for infants and young children from six months, and the safe preparation of food.
2. Healthcare Access
Children need to have access to hospital services to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and help them recover from infections. This can be achieved by the government and NGOs by:
- Routine Immunisations: Vaccination of children is a very successful public health approach to prevent infectious diseases. By vaccinating all children to the recommended schedule, we can prevent diseases such as measles and polio.
- Treatment for Malnutrition: Infants as well as older children who are moderately or severely malnourished benefit from therapeutic feeding programs or other appropriate care. These interventions can help them recover from acute malnutrition, as well as give them a better chance of avoiding infections.
- Improving sanitation and hygiene: Ensuring access to clean water, appropriate disposal of human waste, and teaching children the importance of washing their hands before eating can prevent infections such as diarrhea.
3. Addressing Socioeconomic Factors
To break the vicious cycle between malnutrition and infection, concerted action is needed to tackle the larger socioeconomic determinants of health, including:
- Poverty reduction: Economic development and poverty reduction programs can provide better access to nutritious food, healthcare, and sanitation.
- Education: Providing information and knowledge on nutrition, hygiene, and good health practices to families and communities can help them make informed decisions that will benefit their and their children’s health outcomes later.
4. Community-Based Approaches
Community-based approaches are particularly effective for engaging vulnerable populations. Programs that involve local leadership and organizations have a proven track record of tailoring interventions to meet community needs. They also enhance problem identification and participation, boosting confidence by incorporating familiar cultural practices and creating locally credible ambassadors.
This complex interrelationship of malnutrition and infectious disease vulnerability in children is an area that requires integrated and broad-scope solutions: from the immediate nutrition essentials for children to population-level actions to tackle overarching socioeconomic conditions that commission and promote malnutrition. But, most importantly, we must conceal this Pandora’s box again before any more children are left excluded from the promise of human potential.
To conclude, malnutrition and its association with susceptibility to infectious diseases cannot be fought by one group alone. The government, health professionals, non-governmental organizations, and communities play a key role. By cooperating and putting in effort to improve nutrition and access to healthcare, as well as improving socioeconomic conditions for everyone, we can help to make our children healthier without being afraid of some infectious diseases.
