The Partnership for Child Development and the relationship between health and cognitive development

Abstract

The Partnership for Child Development (PCD) is an international initiative to improve the health and education of school-age children. Helminth infections are one of the most significant health problems affecting schoolchildren in developing countries because these children bear the heaviest infections of any age group, and because the infection can affect learning. This paper reviews studies of the effects of helminths on cognitive function and details findings from one study in Tanzania, which addressed potential methodological shortcomings of associational studies in this area. This study found that children with a heavy S. haematobium (schistosomiasis) infection had significantly lower scores than uninfected children in two tests of verbal short-term memory and two reaction time tasks. In one of these tests, the effect was greatest for children with poor nutritional status. These findings fit in broadly with other studies of helminth infection and cognitive function. We conclude that verbal short-term memory and speed of processing are the cognitive domains most likely to be affected by worm infections. Deworming children may be an effective way to improve their cognitive abilities and thus their performance at school.

Keywords: cognitive function, educational achievement, helminth infections, observational studies, schoolchildren, Tanzania

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2005, 15(1): 89–99