They will assess the impact on infants’ early-life oral yeast colonization and infection and explore microbial compositions of pica substances. A two-year $380,000 award from the NIH supports Abu’s collaboration.
Pica is the compulsive eating of items lacking nutritional value. The behavior occurs most often in women and children, and substances consumed include seemingly harmless items, such as ice, or dangerous materials, such as dried paint, clay, soil, or metal (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
Associations between Maternal Education and Child Nutrition and Oral Health in an Indigenous Population in Ecuador
Go to source
).
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Pica may cause infections and deplete iron stores in pregnant women. The results can be devastating to maternal health and fetal development and carry long-lasting consequences.
People who have iron deficiency crave the taste and smell of non-food substances that make iron deficiency worse. Pregnant women who develop iron deficiency anemia have an increased risk of miscarriages, low-birthweight babies, and other poor-birth outcomes.
Other risk factors revealed from this study could inform prenatal counseling for underserved women and predict and prevent “Early Childhood Caries,” or severe tooth decay in young children.
Research among underserved racial and ethnic minority groups has shown that the presence of certain bacteria and yeast in the mother’s mouth increases the child’s likelihood of developing the condition. The data from this study generated will strengthen the understanding of children’s oral microbiome development and their association with tooth decay (2✔ ✔Trusted Source
Neonatal stunting and early childhood caries: A mini-review
Go to source).
Findings from the current study exploring maternal nutrition and the oral microbiome in early infancy will influence the scope of international research.
Training and expertise in nutrition may bridge gaps in nutritional and oral research and generate ground-breaking interventions for early warning, early detection, and prevention of oral disease and iron deficiency among underserved mothers and young children.
References :
- Associations between Maternal Education and Child Nutrition and Oral Health in an Indigenous Population in Ecuador
– (https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/473
) - Neonatal stunting and early childhood caries: A mini-review
– (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2022.871862/full
)
Source: Eurekalert
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