Table 3.
Intention to treat (ITT) analysis of differences in outcomes of nutrition, cognitive abilities, and school performance between control and intervention groups
| Variable | Control group | Intervention group | Intervention effect (95% CI†) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted | P value | Adjusted‡ | P value | |||
| Nutritional indicators | ||||||
| Hemoglobin levels | ||||||
| Baseline | 126.17 (125.43 to 126.91) | 126.33 (125.59 to 127.07) | 0.16 (−1.73 to 2.05) | 0.864 | 0.24 (−0.67 to 1.14) | 0.604 |
| Follow-up | 132.16 (131.37 to 132.95) | 131.73 (130.92 to 132.54) | −0.43 (−2.53 to 1.68) | 0.690 | −0.33 (−1.64 to 0.98) | 0.623 |
| Anemia prevalence (%) | ||||||
| Baseline | 16.62 (14.41 to 18.83) | 16.14 (13.95 to 18.34) | 0.97 (0.70 to 1.34) | 0.833 | 0.93 (0.79 to 1.10) | 0.385 |
| Follow-up | 9.98 (8.14 to 11.82) | 11.58 (9.61 to 13.55) | 1.18 (0.79 to 1.76) | 0.413 | 1.25 (0.91 to 1.72) | 0.174 |
| % Stunted (HAZ < −2) | ||||||
| Baseline | 26.98 (24.32 to 29.65) | 29.66 (26.89 to 32.42) | 1.14 (0.86 to1.52) | 0.368 | 1.10 (0.92 to 1.31) | 0.291 |
| Follow-up | 23.48 (20.85 to 26.11) | 27.63 (24.84 to 30.42) | 1.24 (0.93 to 1.67) | 0.148 | 1.15 (0.85 to 1.55) | 0.367 |
| % Underweight (WAZ < −2) | ||||||
| Baseline | 24.11 (21.57 to 26.65) | 28.90 (26.20 to 31.61) | 1.28 (1.01 to 1.63) | 0.045* | 1.29 (1.09 to 1.54) | 0.004* |
| Follow-up | 21.37 (18.85 to 23.88) | 24.19 (21.56 to 26.82) | 1.17 (0.92 to 1.51) | 0.204 | 0.77 (0.56 to 1.06) | 0.113 |
| Cognitive abilities | ||||||
| Processing Speed Index Score | ||||||
| Baseline | 86.21 (85.44 to 86.99) | 86.09 (85.31 to 86.87) | −0.12 (−2.47 to 2.23) | 0.919 | 0.16 (−1.28 to 1.59) | 0.827 |
| Follow-up | 88.18 (87.37 to 88.99) | 88.83 (88.01 to 89.65) | 0.65 (−1.47 to 2.77) | 0.545 | 0.63 (−0.22 to 1.49) | 0.143 |
| Working Memory Index Score | ||||||
| Baseline | 78.68 (78.08 to 79.27) | 78.51 (77.92 to 79.10) | −0.16 (−1.60 to 1.28) | 0.822 | −0.05 (−0.98 to 0.89) | 0.922 |
| Follow-up | 78.23 (77.61 to 78.86) | 78.50 (77.86 to 79.14) | 0.27 (−1.18 to 1.72) | 0.715 | 0.51 (−0.09 to 1.11) | 0.093 |
| School performance | ||||||
| School attendance rate (%) | ||||||
| Baseline | 86.73 (84.65 to 88.81) | 87.32 (85.29 to 89.35) | 1.05 (0.68 to 1.64) | 0.818 | 1.08 (0.75 to 1.56) | 0.692 |
| Follow-up | 86.13 (83.81 to 88.45) | 85.30 (82.95 to 87.66) | 0.93 (0.57 to 1.54) | 0.790 | 0.86 (0.55 to 1.33) | 0.496 |
| Normalized TIMSS score | ||||||
| Baseline | 0.00 (−0.06 to 0.06) | −0.04 (−0.10 to 0.02) | −0.04 (−0.22 to 0.14) | 0.633 | 0.01 (−0.1 to 0.11) | 0.912 |
| Follow-up | 0.00 (−0.06 to 0.06) | −0.07 (−0.14 to −0.01) | −0.07 (−0.24 to 0.10) | 0.412 | −0.04 (−0.09 to 0.02) | 0.190 |
CI = confidence interval; HAZ = height-for-age z-score; ITT = intention to treat; TIMSS = Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study; WAZ = weight-for-age z-score.
Bolded values indicate significance at 95% CI.
CI denotes confidence interval.
Values were adjusted for individual characteristics (gender, age, boarding status, minority identification) and household characteristics (siblings, durable assets, parental migrant worker status, parental education levels), as well as township pair-fixed effects. In the case of follow-up, values were also adjusted for the baseline value of the dependent variable. Coefficients for anemia prevalence, % stunted, % underweight, and school attendance rate are reported as an odds ratio.