An observational study in Nutrition, Growth and Development, sponsored by Khyber Medical University Peshawar. Recruiting at 1 site in Pakistan. Open to participants aged 1 Day to 24 Months, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-08.
Sponsored by Khyber Medical University Peshawar · Observational
The association between nutrition in early life and its long-term health consequences has long been known. However, there is a scarcity of scientific evidence on how nutritional status affects child growth and development in remote, rural agro-pastoral communities with distinct dietary intake habits, geographical location, socio-economic status, and cultures.
Childhood malnutrition is endemic in Pakistan. However, the agro-pastoral communities of Pakistan are at particularly high risk of childhood malnutrition due to low socioeconomic status, hard-to-reach geographic locations, harsh weather, and frequent natural disasters due to rapid climate change. Furthermore, distinct dietary habits and cultures may also influence child nutritional status and health and development in these communities. The present study aims to assess the dietary intake/patterns, nutritional status, and their association with the growth and development of children from remote, agro-pastoral communities of District Swat, Pakistan.
In this prospective cohort study from Pakistan, infants and young children (n=416) aged ≤ 2 years and residing in agro-pastoral communities of District Swat will be recruited and followed every 12 months for 5 years. An age and gender-matched comparison group of children (n=416) will also be recruited from the more urban areas of District Swat. Data on household socio-economic status, Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) of Mothers, Infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF), Complimentary Feeding and Eating practices, and growth and development of the children will be assessed from baseline and every 12 months till the child is 5 years old. Anthropometric assessment including height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and BMI will also be performed at each time point.
227 studies on the registry are indexed under Growth Disorders; 25 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 832 is above the median of 231 across 78 observational studies indexed under Growth Disorders.
Browse Growth Disorders studies →Khyber Medical University Peshawar is the lead sponsor of 54 studies on the registry; 13 are open to participants now.
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The target population (infants and young children) residing either in rural, agro-pastoral communities or urban clusters will be recruited from the respective communities. A list of potential participants will be obtained from Extended Program on Immunization (EPI) data of available with local health facilities (Basic Health Unit).
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Exclusion Criteria:
Infants and young children residing in agropastoral communities of District Swat, Pakistan
Infant and young children residing in urban areas of district Swat, Pakistan
Impact of dietary intake/patterns on Child growth as assessed by body mass index (BMI)
Child growth will be assessed through changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) from baseline and each year till the child is 5 years of age. The formula is BMI = kg/m2 where kg is a person's weight in kilograms and m2 is their height in metres squared. These data will be categorised further on the basis of the dietary intake patterns of the children as assessed by Infant and Young child feeding practices (IYCF) questionnaire.
Time frame: 5 years
Impact of dietary intake/patterns on Child development
Assessment of child development from baseline and each year till the child is 5 years of age. Child development will be assessed by changes in Head circumference and a validated questionnaire (Extended Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3). The EASQ-3 contains 21 questions, targeting child's Communication, Gross motor, Fine motor, Problem solving and Personal-Social skills, each having a total score of 0-60 and cut-off value at 22.77, 41.84, 30.16, 24.62 and 33.71, respectively. Score below the cut-off value indicates possible developmental delays while score slightly above the cut-off value indicates further learning activities and monitoring.
Time frame: 5 years
Factors associated with child growth as assessed by changes in BMI
The relationship between child growth and socio-demographic characteristics of the parents, household food insecurity, mother dietary intake (minimum dietary diversity score), and childhood trauma (assessed through Childhood Trauma Scale). CTS is a validated questionnaire containing 16 questions on 04 different aspects trauma i.e., Physical Neglect, Physical Abuse, Emotional Neglect and Emotional Abuse. Total score ranges from 0-80 while 0-20 for each section. Each section has four different cut-off values indicating None, Low, Moderate or Severe neglect/abuse.
Time frame: 5 years
Factors associated with child development (based on Head circumference and EASQ-3)
The relationship between child development and socio-demographic characteristics of the parents, household food insecurity, mother dietary intake (minimum dietary diversity score), and childhood trauma (assessed through Childhood Trauma Scale).
Time frame: 5 years
Plan to share: No
Ran from Jun 2023 to primary completion in Aug 2025, 26 months.
Of 42 observational studies under Growth Disorders, half reached primary completion within 43 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 21 and three quarters within 55. This study's 26 months is below that.
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Khyber Medical University Peshawar