The impact of climate variables on nutritional status of children 0-6 Years old In Africa - A systematic review

Background: Climate change is a significant global challenge that critically impacts socioeconomic activities and livelihoods, hence human health and nutrition. There is evidence that extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and changing precipitation patterns threaten global food systems and food security and could impact the nutritional status of children in vulnerable populations. This study aimed to review primary evidence on climate variables' implications on nutritional status in children aged up to 6 years old in Africa. Method: Two independent reviewers comprehensively searched all relevant published studies from 1937 to October 2024 across three databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. However, the data retrieved for the review was between 2001 and 2024. The exposure variables included temperature, heat waves, rainfall, precipitation, sunshine, aerosol, humidity, short-wave and long-wave solar radiation, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). The outcome variables were nutritional parameters such as stunting, wasting, underweight, microcephaly, cognition, vision, food security, complementary feeding, and dietary patterns. A total of 3433 publications were obtained; however, 29 journal publications were included for review upon removal of duplicates, reviews, commentaries, and studies involving non-human subjects. Result: Rainfall was positively associated with stunting but reduced wasting. Rainfall variability affected dietary patterns and contributed to higher rates of child wasting. Household food diversity and security declined during pre-harvest seasons, correlating with stunting. Higher temperatures were linked to wasting, stunting, underweight, and malnutrition. Higher NDVI was associated with increased wasting. El-Nino Southern Oscillation negatively affected child undernutrition by reducing weight-for-age z-scores. Conclusion: The study showed limited work in Northern and Southern Africa and other African countries like Ghana, creating a considerable research gap. In this era of changing climate and its effect on health, this review advocates for an integrated approach combining climate science, nutrition and health to address the multifaceted impact of climate change on child nutrition.