Transient benefits in young children of a nutrition intervention during pregnancy

Commentary: In this issue of The Lancet Global Health, Delan Devakumar and colleagues1 report on the follow-up of children aged 8•5 years in southern Nepal whose mothers participated in a randomised controlled trial of multiple micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy. Control mothers received standard doses of iron and folic acid supplements. The off spring of mothers in the intervention group had significantly higher birthweights and higher weights and lower systolic blood pressures at age 2•5 years than the offspring of control mothers. However, at age 8•5 years, no difference was detected in weight-for-age, height for- age, body-mass-index-for-age, and systolic blood pressure. This finding is consistent with those of other studies cited by Devakumar and colleagues in Burkina Faso, China, and Bangladesh.