The study compared the growth of 398 children at one year old and 286 children at two years old in Soweto, South Africa. Among them, 143 and 82 children respectively were HIV-exposed but uninfected (CHEU), while 255 and 204 were HIV-unexposed and uninfected (CHUU). The researchers assessed growth indicators using World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards: length-for-age, weight-for-age, weight-for-length, and head circumference-for-age.
Key findings:
- CHEU tended to have slightly lower growth scores, these differences were not statistically significant after adjusting for maternal and socioeconomic factors;
- At one year of age, stunting (defined as length-for-age more than two standard deviations below the WHO standard mean) affected 29% of HIV-exposed and 19% of HIV-unexposed children, while by two years the rates were 19% and 21%, respectively;
- The prevalence of underweight (weight-for-age more than two standard deviations below the mean) and wasting (weight-for-length more than two standard deviations below the mean) was similar across groups, though children exposed to HIV had a lower risk of overweight (weight-for-length more than two standard deviations above the mean) at two years old.
Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Population Health website.