P1036 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN STRESS, GROWTH AND NUTRITION IN YOUNG CHILDREN

P1036

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN STRESS, GROWTH AND NUTRITION IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Z. Sohail^1,2,3,4,*, N. B. A. Hadi¹, M. Asghar^3,5,6, F. Zaman^2,7

¹Health sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin , Kuala terengganu, Malaysia, ²Basic medical sciences, Riphah International University, ³Atta-ur-Rehman School of Applied Biosciences , National University of Sciences & Technology, Islamabad, ⁴Life Sciences, Univeristy of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan, ⁵Biology, Lunds University , Lund, Sweden, ⁶Department of Sports Sciences and Clinical Biomechanics, , University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark, ⁷Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Rationale: Psychological stress can affect eating habits, but its link to linear growth and nutrition is unclear in young children. We hypothesized that stunted schoolchildren have higher stress and poor nutrition.

Methods: This pilot study involved 56 schoolchildren in Lahore, Pakistan. Children were classified as stunted or non-stunted based on height-for-age z-scores and stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale. Caloric intake was estimated via 24-hour recall. Salivary inflammation will be assessed using qPCR. Group comparisons were analyzed using t-tests.

Results: We first measured stress in stunted and non-stunted children. Preliminary findings showed significantly higher stress levels in stunted girls and boys vs. non-stunted peers (p = 0.02, 0.03). Further, stunted children had lower caloric intake (girls: 1019.9 vs. 1284.1 kcal/day, p = 0.01; boys: 1170.6 vs. 1386.3 kcal/day, p = 0.02) and lower protein intake (girls: 31.2 vs. 41.8 g/day; boys: 36.6 vs. 48.3 g/day, both p = 0.001).

 Next, we asked if there is any association between stress, protein and caffein intake. Stress-positive children had significantly reduced protein intake (girls: 34.9 vs. 45.6 g/day, p = 0.007; boys: 40.3 vs. 46.4 g/day, p = 0.03) and higher caffeine intake (girls: 74.3 vs. 47.8 mg/day, p = 0.03; boys: 71.0 vs. 42.9 mg/day, p = 0.02). We are expanding our samples to further explore links between stress, micronutrients, and systemic inflammation (TNF alpha and IL-1 beta).

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to report significantly higher stress levels in schoolchildren with growth stunting. Notably, protein intake was significantly lower, while caffeine intake was higher in stress-positive children. These findings may help policymakers—both locally and globally—develop strategies to reduce psychological stress and address dietary imbalances, thereby supporting healthy linear growth in children.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared