RESEARCH ARTICLE


Impact of Infectious Diseases on Cognitive Development in Childhood and Beyond: Potential Mitigational Role of Hygiene



M. Khalid Ijaz, Joseph R. Rubino*
Reckitt Benckiser LLC., One Philips Parkway, Montvale, NJ 07645, USA.


Creative Commons License
© 2012 Khalid Ijaz et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Correspondence: * Address correspondence to this author at the Reckitt Benckiser LLC., One Philips Parkway, Montvale, NJ 07645, USA.Tel: +1-201-573-6083; Fax: +1-201-573-6046; E-mail: Joseph.Rubino@rb.com


Abstract

Enteric infections in the early years of childhood can exacerbate underlying malnutrition and, if not addressed, can lead to a vicious and synergistic cycle of malnutrition-enteric infection-malnutrition. Cognitive impairment is a key detrimental outcome associated with this cycle of malnutrition and enteric infection. Mechanistically, diversion of metabolic resources away from the developing brain under conditions of nutritional stress may underlie the impairment of cognitive function. Evidence indicates that the effects of the synergy between malnutrition and enteric pathogens last far beyond the time of infection and can lead to long-term effects on cognition. Indeed, emerging evidence suggests a potential for later-life vulnerability to neurodegenerative diseases as a consequence of enteric infectious diseases on early-life brain development. Simple interventions for improving hygiene have proven to lessen the burden of enteric infectious disease. The mitigational role of good hygiene practices has the potential to break the vicious cycle of malnutrition and enteric infection, and contribute to improving the cognitive development potential of children at risk.

Keywords: Diarrhea, cognitive, enteric.