Impact of infectious diseases on physical and mental development in African children

• Applicant: Stefanie Schoppen, Ph.D., since 1/2014
• Co-Applicants: Professor Dr. Eliezer Kouakou NGoran; Dr. Harry Tagbor
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: from 2009 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 68748488

Longitudinal and prospective studies on the incidence of common infections in children in developing countries are largely missing. The available data, still mostly derived from retrospective or cross-sectional analyses, suggest a considerable impact of infections on physical health, but also on learning abilities, behavioural and emotional (summarized here as “mental”) outcome. National statistics on young children’s mental development are not available for most developing countries, and this gap contributes to the invisibility of the problem of poor development (1). The proposition from WHO in 2001, that there can be “no development without health, and no health without mental health” has been endorsed by many institutions and councils, the European Union council of Ministers among others (2). Since child development is a dynamic process, it is best investigated in longitudinal studies that allow the description of changes in the burden of diseases as the child grows older. In some functional areas, it was observed that the burden may decrease (3). In others, for example in planning and organizational skills after severe infections, we might expect to find an increased burden with time since insult (4). Cognitive functioning in children is affected by health-related as well as environmental factors. Risk factors interfering with mental outcome in young children are of particular importance within the first two years of life because they are essential for further growth and development (5). Failure of children, however, to fulfil their developmental potential and achieve satisfactory educational levels plays an important role in the inter-generational transmission of poverty (1). In countries with a large proportion of such children, national development is likely to be affected and, in turn, infectious diseases will become key factors influencing public health.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Côte d´Ivoire, Ghana
• Participating Persons: Privatdozentin Dr. Carola Bindt; Professor Dr. Gerd-Dieter Burchard; Professor Dr. Jürgen May; Professor Dr. Franz Resch; Professor Dr. Egbert Tannich
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Stephan Ehrhardt, until 1/2014