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. 2018 Jan;14(1):e12456.
doi: 10.1111/mcn.12456. Epub 2017 Apr 27.

Premastication and length for age among children under 24 months in Laos

Joel Conkle  1 , Sengchanh Kounnavong  2 , Melissa Young  3 , Aryeh D Stein  3   4
Affiliations

Premastication and length for age among children under 24 months in Laos

Joel Conkle et al. Matern Child Nutr. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Premastication of infant food by caregivers is common in Laos. Premastication is hypothesized to have both positive and negative implications for children, but the net effect of premastication on child health and nutrition is largely unknown because of a lack of research. This study quantitatively describes premastication in 5 provinces of Laos and examines the associations between premastication and the length of young children. We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Laos 2015 Food and Nutrition Security Survey to characterize premastication among children under 2 years of age (n = 1,661) and to test associations between premastication and child length-for-age z-score. We explored associations using multilevel mixed effects linear regression. Among children 0-23 months, 27.2% of mothers reported giving premasticated food in the past week. Receipt of premasticated food was inversely associated with length-for-age z-score after controlling for potential confounders (child's age, ethno-linguistic group, wealth, and parity) among children 6-13 months (β -0.36, CI [-0.68, -0.04]) and among children 14-23 months (β -0.43, CI [-0.81, -0.05]). For breastfed children 0-5 months who received complementary food, the coefficient was similar, but the association was not statistically significant (β -0.42, CI [-1.2, 0.37]). Premastication is a common feeding practice for children 0-23 months of age, and many infants consume premasticated food on a daily basis. There was a negative relationship between premastication and child length. However, given the cross-sectional nature of this study and potential unmeasured confounding factors, reverse causality or confounding cannot be ruled out. Longitudinal studies are needed to develop recommendations on premastication.

Keywords: anthropometry; child feeding; complementary feeding; infant feeding; prechewing; premastication.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of children 0–23 months of age in five provinces of Laos currently receiving premasticated food by age, Food and Nutrition Security Survey 2015
Figure 2
Figure 2
Unadjusted mean length‐for‐age z‐score (LAZ) and 95% confidence interval by current premastication in selected age groups of children under 2 years of age, Food and Nutrition Security Survey 2015
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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