Using longitudinal data to understand nutrition and health interactions in rural Gambia

Context: Population-based cohort studies have been pivotal in establishing a number of nutrition-health interactions, especially in high-income settings. Less research is available from low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of detailed longitudinal data. Objective: To describe the use of prospectively collected longitudinal data from the rural West Kiang region of The Gambia to explore nutrition-health interactions in a rural sub-Saharan African context. Methods: Demographic records initiated in 1947, coupled with data on maternal and child health, have been used to explore nutrition-health relationships. Results: An analysis of the longitudinal demographic data demonstrated a highly significant association between season of birth and infection-related adult mortality in this context. Additionally, using routine data on childhood anthropometry, it has been shown that, despite a significant decline in child undernutrition, rates remain unacceptably high, likely reflecting the very high socio-economic threshold required to eliminate undernutrition. Conclusion: The foresight to establish demographic data collection over seventy years ago has supported a wealth of novel research within a traditional African context. The availability of detailed clinical records on maternal and child health is helping to unravel the factors driving child undernutrition in rural Africa, and to identify targets for interventions to improve health in this context.