The role of exclusive breastfeeding on sIgA and lactoferrin levels in toddlers suffering from Acute Respiratory Infection: A cross-sectional study.

Secretion of Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and lactoferrin is a nutrient content in breast milk that can increase immunity in preventing infectious diseases such as Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI). This research aims to determine the role of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) on sIgA and Lactoferrin levels in toddlers suffering from ARI. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 124 toddlers under five from January-July 2021. Toddlers were selected using a purposive technique sampling from three Community Health Centers in Central Jakarta. Data were analyzed using t-test and ANOVA. The history of immunization, EBF, and frequency of ARI was significantly associated with levels of sIgA and lactoferrin. Parity only correlated with sIgA but not with lactoferrin levels. Maternal and toddlers' age, gender, and nutritional status were not significantly related to sIgA and lactoferrin levels. There is a significant (p-value <0.001) difference in the mean protein sIgA and lactoferrin levels in toddlers who were given EBF with ARI frequency <2 times and toddlers who were given EBF with ARI frequency ≥2 times. Toddlers who were exclusively breastfed with ARI frequency <2 times had higher levels of sIgA and lactoferrin (188901.77 pg/ml and 262.32 ng/ml, respectively) compared to infants given EBF with ARI frequency ≥2 times (136683.47 pg/ml and 181.49 ng/ml, respectively). History of immunization was also significantly (p-value <0.05) associated with levels of sIgA and lactoferrin in infants with ARI. The content of sIgA and lactoferrin in breast milk and immunization can increase the body's immune system in toddlers suffering from ARI.

Risk Factors and Nutritional Profiles Associated with Stunting in Children.

PURPOSE: To analyze risk factors and various nutrients associated with stunting among children aged 6-60 months. METHODS: This is a case-control and cross-sectional study between 40 stunting cases and 40 controls. Data on possible risk factors associated with stunting were obtained through direct interviews and using a questionnaire. Examination of vitamin D, zinc, albumin, and ferritin levels was performed on both groups. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA) to determine risk factors for stunting and to assess the relationship between nutritional levels and stunting. RESULTS: The incidence of stunting was highest in children aged 12-36 months. Children with low weight and very low weight for age comprised of 55% and 22.5%, respectively, of the study participants. The highest mother's educational level was junior high school (40%). History of low birth weight (LBW) was more commonly observed in the stunting group than that in the control group (25.0% and 7.5%, respectively; p=0.034, odds ratio, 0.310 [95% confidence interval, 0.122-0.789]). Approximately 7.5% of cases had premature birth. Exclusive breast feeding was found to be not correlated with stunting. The mean zinc level in the stunting group was 34.17 ng/mL, which was different from that in the control group (50.83 ng/mL) (p=0.023). Blood ferritin, vitamin D, albumin, and calcium levels were not strongly correlated with stunting. CONCLUSION: LBW is the main risk factor contributing to stunting and is strongly associated with low zinc level.

Translation, Adaptation and Psychometric Validation of the Indonesian Version of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale for Parents of Low Birth Weight Infants.

PURPOSE: Parental readiness is a requirement for discharge of the high-risk infant from the hospital. Currently, in Indonesia, there are no standard tools to measure parental readiness according to parents' perceptions. This study aimed to undertake cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the original version (English) of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS)-Parent into Bahasa Indonesia. DESIGN AND METHODS: The cross-cultural adaptation was comprised of seven steps: forward translation, forward translation review, blind-back translation, back translation review, pilot testing of the pre-final version with mothers of low birth weight (LBW) infants, expert panel for conceptual and content equivalence, and initial psychometric testing. In the fifth and sixth steps, content validity index was estimated. In the seventh step, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and internal consistency reliability were conducted. In total, 146 mothers of LBW infants were included in the psychometric testing using convenience sampling. RESULTS: The 22 item Bahasa-RHDS-Parent emerged in a four-factor structure evident from EFA. This version has good reliability with Cronbach alpha values for knowledge and coping ability (0.92), physical-emotional readiness (0.89), pain and power (0.83), expected support (0.80) and 0.90 across the total Bahasa-RHDS-Parent. CONCLUSION: The Bahasa-RHDS-Parent presents good cross-cultural adaptation and initial psychometric properties for assessing parental readiness in parents with LBW infants before hospital discharge. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This questionnaire can be used by nurses to measure readiness for discharge of parents of low birthweight babies. Further testing is needed with a larger sample and parents of children of other ages and conditions for instrument improvement.

Determination of total homocysteine in dried blood spots using high performance liquid chromatography for homocystinuria newborn screening.

BACKGROUND: The most widely used method for newborn screening for homocystinuria (HCU) is a semi-quantitative bacterial inhibition assay for measuring methionine concentration in dried blood spots (DBS). Because this method has resulted in a number of missed cases due to many factors, we developed a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection to measure total homocysteine (tHcy) in DBS which might be useful for newborn screening for HCU. METHODS: One disk of DBS 3 mm in diameter was sonicated in 10 min. The extract was reduced with dithioerythritol and was derivatized with 4-aminosulfonyl-7fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole before injection into HPLC. RESULTS: This method showed good linearity (r = 0.996), precision (coefficient of variation range 2.7-5%), and excellent correlation coefficient between DBS and serum tHcy, both in control (r = 0.932) and patient samples (r = 0.952). By this method, the mean tHcy concentration in DBS of preterm newborns, full-term newborns, and adults was 1.4 +/- 1.0, 2.5 +/- 1.6, and 4.9 +/- 1.5 micro mol/L, respectively. The mean tHcy DBS concentration in two cases of cystathionine-beta-synthase deficiency and one case of 5,10-methylentetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency was 22.7 +/- 2.88, 29.3 +/- 1.90, and 41.3 micro mol/L, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present method, which is rapid, user friendly and reliable, seems applicable to newborn screening of HCU in place of methionine measurement.