Assessment of Aflatoxin Exposure in School- Aged Children in Southern Ethiopia

Document Type

Poster

Event Website

https://source2022.sched.com/

Start Date

16-5-2022

End Date

16-5-2022

Keywords

Nutrition, Global Health, Aflatoxin

Abstract

Introduction: Aflatoxins(AF), a naturally occurring fungi are known to contaminate staple crops in low-income countries. Exposure to AFs may have detrimental effects on health such as hepatocellular carcinoma, immune suppression, and growth impairment. The aim of the current study was to examine the prevalence of AF exposure in school-aged children and evaluate its association with socio-economic and demographic characteristics and dietary intake of households. Methods: This study utilizes secondary data, from a cross-sectional study of 408 school-aged children. Urine samples were analyzed for AFM1 concentration. Moreover, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics and dietary intake data were collected. Data were presented as frequency distributions, percentages, and means (SD). Skewed data and AMF1 concentration were log-transformed before analysis. Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) was used for predicting the AFM1 concentration. Results: 93% of children had detectable urinary AFM1, the median concentration was 472.7 pg/ml. The MCA revealed that child age (p=.026), household size (p=.039), mothers’ occupation (p=.005), consumption of haricot bean (p=0.010) and cow milk (p=.021), and dietary diversity score (p=.010)) were all significantly associated with AFM1 concentration. Conclusion: In conclusion, high exposure to AFM1 was observed in this study. Frequent consumption of certain food products and socio-economic status of households were significantly associated with AFM1 exposure. However, since the relation between AFM1 and dietary intake was analyzed based on self-reported data it is recommended that all of the staple foods, as well as animal feeds in the study area should be assessed for AFM1 contamination.

Faculty Mentor(s)

David Gee, Susan Hawk, Tafere Belay

Department/Program

Food Science and Nutrition

Additional Mentoring Department

Food Science and Nutrition

Additional Mentoring Department

Health Sciences

Additional Mentoring Department

Graduate Studies

Dean, Melanie SOURCE Presentation.pptx (125795 kB)
Poster with video

Dean, Melanie PDFposter.pdf (387 kB)
Poster

Additional Files

Dean, Melanie SOURCE Presentation.pptx (125795 kB)
Poster with video

Dean, Melanie PDFposter.pdf (387 kB)
Poster

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May 16th, 12:00 AM May 16th, 12:00 AM

Assessment of Aflatoxin Exposure in School- Aged Children in Southern Ethiopia

Introduction: Aflatoxins(AF), a naturally occurring fungi are known to contaminate staple crops in low-income countries. Exposure to AFs may have detrimental effects on health such as hepatocellular carcinoma, immune suppression, and growth impairment. The aim of the current study was to examine the prevalence of AF exposure in school-aged children and evaluate its association with socio-economic and demographic characteristics and dietary intake of households. Methods: This study utilizes secondary data, from a cross-sectional study of 408 school-aged children. Urine samples were analyzed for AFM1 concentration. Moreover, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics and dietary intake data were collected. Data were presented as frequency distributions, percentages, and means (SD). Skewed data and AMF1 concentration were log-transformed before analysis. Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) was used for predicting the AFM1 concentration. Results: 93% of children had detectable urinary AFM1, the median concentration was 472.7 pg/ml. The MCA revealed that child age (p=.026), household size (p=.039), mothers’ occupation (p=.005), consumption of haricot bean (p=0.010) and cow milk (p=.021), and dietary diversity score (p=.010)) were all significantly associated with AFM1 concentration. Conclusion: In conclusion, high exposure to AFM1 was observed in this study. Frequent consumption of certain food products and socio-economic status of households were significantly associated with AFM1 exposure. However, since the relation between AFM1 and dietary intake was analyzed based on self-reported data it is recommended that all of the staple foods, as well as animal feeds in the study area should be assessed for AFM1 contamination.

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2022/CEPS/16