Stable Isotope Techniques Used to Study Link Between Gut Health and Child Growth

A large proportion of the population in low- and middle-income countries lives in an environment characterized by poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, which contribute to growth retardation in children. This is due to adverse modification of intestinal processes, which leads to improper absorption of the nutrients necessary for growth and other functions. This disturbance, originally referred to as environmental enteropathy, is now widely called environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) to reflect its multifaceted manifestations and effects.

A new IAEA-coordinated research project, approved in November 2016, is expected to provide a non-invasive, stable-isotope-based tool for diagnosis of EED in order to understand more clearly how this specific gut-related dysfunction affects the growth and health of children over longer periods of time in low- and middle-income countries. Nine countries from both developed and low- and middle-income settings have received IAEA grants to participate in this project, as technical experts in the case of developed countries and as research implementers in the case of low- and middle-income countries.

The project is studying the effect of EED on child growth and health in specific populations, using a stable isotope technique - the carbon-13 (13C) sucrose breath test. This method has previously been used to assess non-EED-specific intestinal function. The assessment was based on the utilization of naturally 13C-enriched sucrose (from maize).

Since maize and sugarcane are widely consumed in low- and middle-income countries and already contain a lot of 13C sucrose, natural enrichment may not be adequate. Therefore, the project will develop and test the usability of a more highly enriched 13C sucrose breath test.

Four experts from Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and the United States of America (USA) are working on refining the existing 13C sucrose breath test by using highly enriched 13C sucrose, as described above, and validating the test against gut biopsy to identify gut dysfunction in EED.

In November this year, the IAEA will hold a meeting for stakeholders, technical contract holders and research contract holders from participating countries to harmonize the protocol, develop concrete plans and discuss the logistical details for the longitudinal studies. The experts from Australia, the UK and the USA will present details of the progress of optimization and validation of the 13C sucrose breath test.

To read more please visit: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/stable-isotope-techniques-used-to-study-link-between-gut-health-and-child-growth

Source: IAEA