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Cited by 1,756Child Nutrition and Water AccessGlobal Maternal and Child HealthBirth, Development, and Health

Inequality in early childhood: risk and protective factors for early child development

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Walker, Susan P, Wachs, Theodore D, Grantham-McGregor, Sally, Black, Maureen M, Nelson, Charles A, Huffman, Sandra L, Baker-Henningham, Helen, Chang, Susan M +6 more·2011·The Lancet
DOI 10.1016/s0140-6736(11)60555-2
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Abstract

Inequality between and within populations has origins in adverse early experiences. Developmental neuroscience shows how early biological and psychosocial experiences affect brain development. We previously identified inadequate cognitive stimulation, stunting, iodine deficiency, and iron-deficiency anaemia as key risks that prevent millions of young children from attaining their developmental potential. Recent research emphasises the importance of these risks, strengthens the evidence for other risk factors including intrauterine growth restriction, malaria, lead exposure, HIV infection, maternal depression, institutionalisation, and exposure to societal violence, and identifies protective factors such as breastfeeding and maternal education. Evidence on risks resulting from prenatal maternal nutrition, maternal stress, and families affected with HIV is emerging. Interventions are urgently needed to reduce children's risk exposure and to promote development in affected children. Our goal is to provide information to help the setting of priorities for early child development programmes and policies to benefit the world's poorest children and reduce persistent inequalities.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0140-6736(11)60555-2

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  • Parents and children in LMICs are more likely to be exposed to additional risk factors that constrain nurturing care and ECD, such that support for parenting may be more beneficial in low-resource contexts.

    “Parents and children in LMICs are more likely to be exposed to additional risk factors that constrain nurturing care and ECD (e.g., low parental education, malnutrition, fewer early learning opportunities) [3,59], such that support for parenting may be more beneficial in low-resource contexts.”

    From Parenting interventions to promote early child development in the first three years of life: A global systematic review and meta-analysis (2021) · cites this paper as [3]

  • Studies in LMIC have shown that high-quality family experiences in toddlerhood are linked to positive cognitive outcomes in early childhood that persist into adolescence and adulthood.

    “Studies in LMIC have shown that high-quality family experiences in toddlerhood are linked to positive cognitive outcomes in early childhood (Walker et al. 1994(Walker et al. , 2011) ) that persist into adolescence and adulthood (Gertler et al. 2014).”

    From Early Family Experiences and Neural Activity in Rural Pakistani Children: The Differential Role of Gender (2024) · cites this paper as Walker et al. 2011

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Authors
Walker, S. P., Wachs, T. D., Grantham-McGregor, S., Black, M. M., Nelson, C. A., Huffman, S. L., Baker-Henningham, H., Chang, S. M., Hamadani, J. D., Lozoff, B., Gardner, J. M. M., Powell, C. A., Rahman, A., & Richter, L.
Affiliations
  • University of the West Indies (JM)
  • Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
  • University of Maryland, College Park (US)
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (BD)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • University of the West Indies (TT)
  • Human Sciences Research Council (ZA)
Corresponding author
Walker, Susan P
ORCID
Venue
The Lancet
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-10
Volume
378
Issue
9799
Pages
1325-1338
ISSN
  • 0099-5355 (ISSN-L)
  • 0140-6736
DOI
10.1016/s0140-6736(11)60555-2
OpenAlex
W2093743952
Cited by
1,756
References
130
Citations by year
2026: 69 · 2025: 109 · 2024: 113 · 2023: 143 · 2022: 116 · 2021: 179 · 2020: 201 · 2019: 138 · 2018: 134 · 2017: 118 · 2016: 131 · 2015: 106 · 2014: 94 · 2013: 61 · 2012: 37
FWCI
58.15
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • The Lancet (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • UNICEF
  • Wellcome Trust (080534/Z/06/Z)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
Keywords
early childhood development, risk factors, protective factors, cognitive stimulation, stunting, iodine deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, fetal growth restriction, malaria, lead exposure, HIV infection, maternal depression, institutionalization, social violence, breastfeeding, maternal education, prenatal nutrition, maternal stress, child poverty, early intervention
MeSH terms
Child Development, Humans

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