Investigating the influence of vitamin D status on cognitive and motor development in young African children. (360G-Wellcome-209640_Z_17_Z)

Poor child development is a major public health concern in Africa where children are exposed to risk factors such as poverty and malnutrition. Studies show that vitamin D deficiency affects African children despite sunshine throughout the year. Evidence from in vitro and animal work shows that vitamin D plays an important functional role in neurodevelopment. There is limited literature on the effects of vitamin D deficiency on child development especially in African populations and these have shown mixed results. I intend to carry out an observational study among 1583 children to establish if there is an association between vitamin D status and cognitive and motor development. Additionally, in a pilot study I will use genetic variation in vitamin D to investigate causality between low vitamin D levels and impaired development among 2583 children. This approach reflects life-long exposure and avoids the potential problems of confounding and reverse causation associated with observational studies. A significant advantage is that, through collaboration, vitamin D measurements, developmental scores and genome wide association study (GWAS) data are already available for the majority of these children. This study will inform the design of interventions to prevent vitamin D deficiency/ insufficiency and improve child development in Africa.

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Grant Details

Amount Awarded 119292
Applicant Surname Mutua
Approval Committee International Interview Committee
Award Date 2017-11-21T00:00:00+00:00
Financial Year 2017/18
Grant Programme: Title International Masters Fellowship
Internal ID 209640/Z/17/Z
Lead Applicant Ms Agnes Mutua
Partnership Value 119292
Planned Dates: End Date 2022-03-01T00:00:00+00:00
Planned Dates: Start Date 2018-09-01T00:00:00+00:00
Recipient Org: Country Kenya
Region International
Sponsor(s) Prof Alison Elliott, Prof Thomas Williams