Abstract
The cognitive skills critical for success have largely been studied in Western populations, despite the fact that children in low- and middle-income countries are at risk to not reach their full developmental potential. Moreover, scientists should leverage recent discovery to explore means of boosting cognition in at-risk populations. This semi-randomized controlled trial examined normative cognitive development and whether it could be enhanced by consumption of a probiotic food in a sample of 251 4- to 7-year-old children in urban schools in Côte d’Ivoire. Participants completed executive functioning measures at baseline (T1) and 5 months later (T2). After T1, children in one school received a probiotic (N = 74) or placebo (N = 79) fermented dairy food every day they were in school for one semester; children in the other school (N = 98) continued their diet as usual. Children improved on all tests across time (Cohen’s d = 0.08–0.30). The effects of probiotic ingestion were inconclusive and are interpreted with caution due to socio-political factors affecting daily administration. Given the general feasibility of the study, we hope that it will serve as an inspiration for future research into child development and sustainable (health-promoting) interventions for school children in developing nations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 19491 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Volume | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Nov 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank the many contributors who helped make this study happen. We are especially thankful for our local partners, too numerous to name but including: the dêguê production team, the school directors and teachers who helped us facilitate testing and probiotic administration, the government officials who helped us find the families and schools to participate in this study, our partners from the Jacobs Foundation at Transforming Education in Cocoa Communities (TRECC) who helped us navigate the local landscape and gave us a home from which to operate, our esteemed research partners who were integral to keeping the study running even in the face of political turmoil, and the families and children who were kind enough to be a part of the study. We also thank Daniel Ansari for generously providing us with the Numeracy Screener in French and Dr. Nieke Westerik for the yoghurt-production training she provided.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
Funding
We thank the many contributors who helped make this study happen. We are especially thankful for our local partners, too numerous to name but including: the dêguê production team, the school directors and teachers who helped us facilitate testing and probiotic administration, the government officials who helped us find the families and schools to participate in this study, our partners from the Jacobs Foundation at Transforming Education in Cocoa Communities (TRECC) who helped us navigate the local landscape and gave us a home from which to operate, our esteemed research partners who were integral to keeping the study running even in the face of political turmoil, and the families and children who were kind enough to be a part of the study. We also thank Daniel Ansari for generously providing us with the Numeracy Screener in French and Dr. Nieke Westerik for the yoghurt-production training she provided.
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