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Background Few studies have evaluated the body composition (BC) of adults who suffered from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) during childhood, a population at risk of long-term noncommunicable diseases. Objective We performed an observational cohort study to evaluate BC in a group of young adults aged 11–30 y after nutritional rehabilitation for SAM, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Methods We evaluated 151 adults in eastern DRC who were treated for SAM during childhood between 1988 and 2007. They were compared with 120 aged- and sex-matched control adults living in the same community who had not been exposed to malnutrition as children. The main variables of interest were the different compartments of adult BC (fat-free mass [FFM], fat mass [FM], and 2 indices of height-normalized BC: FFM index [FFMI] and FM index [FMI]) measured by deuterium dilution. Results The mean age in both groups was 23 y, and females represented 49% and 56% of the exposed and nonexposed groups, respectively. SAM-exposed males had lower mean ± SD weight (53.6 ± 6.4 compared with 56.4 ± 7.9 kg, P  = 0.029) and lower height (159.9 ± 6.6 compared with 163.6 ± 6.7 cm, P  = 0.003) compared to unexposed males. SAM-exposed subjects had less FFM (–1.56 kg [–2.93, –0.20]; P  = 0.024) but this observation was more marked in males (45.4 ± 5.4 compared with 48.2 ± 6.9 kg, P  = 0.01) than in females. No differences in FM were noted between SAM-exposed and unexposed subjects. Adjusting for height, FFMI and FMI showed no difference between SAM-exposed and unexposed in either sex. Conclusion SAM during childhood is associated with reduced FFM in adulthood which is probably due to a shorter height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Little is known about the long-term outcome of children treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) after nutritional rehabilitation. Objectives To explore the association between SAM in childhood, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and low human capital in adulthood. Methods We identified 524 adults (median age: 22 y) who were treated for SAM during childhood in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between 1988 and 2007. They were compared with 407 community unexposed age- and sex-matched subjects with no history of SAM. The variables of interest were cardiometabolic risk markers for NCDs and human capital. For the comparison, we used linear and logistic regressions to estimate the association between SAM in childhood and the risk of NCDs and ordinal logistic regression for the human capital. Results Compared with unexposed subjects, the exposed participants had a higher waist circumference [1.2 (0.02, 2.3) cm; P  = 0.015], and a larger waist-to-height ratio [0.01 (0.01, 0.02) cm; P  < 0.001]. On the other hand, they had a smaller hip circumference [−1.5 (−2.6, −0.5) cm; P  = 0.021]. Regarding cardiometabolic markers for NCDs, apart from a higher glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) [0.4 (0.2, 0.6); P  < 0.001], no difference was observed in other cardiometabolic markers for NCD between the 2 groups. Compared with unexposed participants, exposed participants had a higher risk of metabolic syndrome (crude OR: 2.35; 95% CI: 1.22, 4.54; P  = 0.010) and visceral obesity [adjusted OR: 1.44 (1.09, 1.89); P  = 0.001]. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, overweight, and dyslipidaemia was similar in both groups. Last, the proportion of malnutrition survivors with higher socioeconomic status level was lower. Conclusion SAM during childhood was associated with a high risk of NCDs and lower human capital in adulthood. Thus, policymakers and funders seeking to fight the global spread of NCDs in adults in low-resource settings should consider the long-term benefit of reducing childhood SAM as a preventive measure to reduce the socioeconomic burden attributable to NCDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]