Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions.
Early childhood growth deficits have been shown to have lifelong health and economic impacts, yet their connection to one of their underlying causes, diarrheal diseases, has remained difficult to characterize. Identifying the processes and mechanisms that underlie this link has remained a challenge...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011475&type=printable |
| _version_ | 1826938191736733696 |
|---|---|
| author | Karoun H Bagamian John D Anderson Iv Gabriela Blohm Suzanne Scheele |
| author_facet | Karoun H Bagamian John D Anderson Iv Gabriela Blohm Suzanne Scheele |
| author_sort | Karoun H Bagamian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Early childhood growth deficits have been shown to have lifelong health and economic impacts, yet their connection to one of their underlying causes, diarrheal diseases, has remained difficult to characterize. Identifying the processes and mechanisms that underlie this link has remained a challenge due to the complexity of the relationship and limitations in access to more advanced laboratory methods. In recent years, however, several large-scale, multisite studies have extensively investigated and reported the prevalence, etiology, and impacts of diarrheal diseases in children under 5 years (CU5) in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). These studies, in combination with several single-site studies, have applied more advanced laboratory methods to uncover the etiology, true prevalence, infection mechanisms, and inflammation biomarkers of diarrheal disease. Of the multiple pathogens that have been shown to be strongly associated with diarrheal disease in CU5, Shigella is one of the more prevalent and impactful of these pathogens. In this narrative review, we highlight key insights from these studies and identify knowledge gaps and directions for future research. According to these studies, Shigella is most commonly detected in toddlers and young children; however, it can cause more severe disease and has a greater impact on linear growth for infants. Shigella often has a stronger relationship to linear growth faltering (LGF) than other enteropathogens, with higher Shigella loads resulting in greater growth deficits. Future studies should employ more Shigella-specific molecular assays and identify diarrheal etiologies using standardized diagnostics to improve child anthropometric and Shigella surveillance. Also, they should focus on uncovering the mechanisms of the relationship underlying Shigella and growth faltering to better characterize the role of asymptomatic infections and intestinal inflammation in this relationship. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T20:20:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2723580256a34148a146d170f1cff9bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1935-2727 1935-2735 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-17T18:52:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-2723580256a34148a146d170f1cff9bf2024-12-11T05:32:07ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352023-09-01179e001147510.1371/journal.pntd.0011475Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions.Karoun H BagamianJohn D Anderson IvGabriela BlohmSuzanne ScheeleEarly childhood growth deficits have been shown to have lifelong health and economic impacts, yet their connection to one of their underlying causes, diarrheal diseases, has remained difficult to characterize. Identifying the processes and mechanisms that underlie this link has remained a challenge due to the complexity of the relationship and limitations in access to more advanced laboratory methods. In recent years, however, several large-scale, multisite studies have extensively investigated and reported the prevalence, etiology, and impacts of diarrheal diseases in children under 5 years (CU5) in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). These studies, in combination with several single-site studies, have applied more advanced laboratory methods to uncover the etiology, true prevalence, infection mechanisms, and inflammation biomarkers of diarrheal disease. Of the multiple pathogens that have been shown to be strongly associated with diarrheal disease in CU5, Shigella is one of the more prevalent and impactful of these pathogens. In this narrative review, we highlight key insights from these studies and identify knowledge gaps and directions for future research. According to these studies, Shigella is most commonly detected in toddlers and young children; however, it can cause more severe disease and has a greater impact on linear growth for infants. Shigella often has a stronger relationship to linear growth faltering (LGF) than other enteropathogens, with higher Shigella loads resulting in greater growth deficits. Future studies should employ more Shigella-specific molecular assays and identify diarrheal etiologies using standardized diagnostics to improve child anthropometric and Shigella surveillance. Also, they should focus on uncovering the mechanisms of the relationship underlying Shigella and growth faltering to better characterize the role of asymptomatic infections and intestinal inflammation in this relationship.https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011475&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Karoun H Bagamian John D Anderson Iv Gabriela Blohm Suzanne Scheele Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
| title | Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions. |
| title_full | Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions. |
| title_fullStr | Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions. |
| title_short | Shigella and childhood stunting: Evidence, gaps, and future research directions. |
| title_sort | shigella and childhood stunting evidence gaps and future research directions |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011475&type=printable |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karounhbagamian shigellaandchildhoodstuntingevidencegapsandfutureresearchdirections AT johndandersoniv shigellaandchildhoodstuntingevidencegapsandfutureresearchdirections AT gabrielablohm shigellaandchildhoodstuntingevidencegapsandfutureresearchdirections AT suzannescheele shigellaandchildhoodstuntingevidencegapsandfutureresearchdirections |