%0 Journal Article %T Fecal Markers of Environmental Enteropathy and Subsequent Growth in Bangladeshi Children %A Barbra A. Richardson %A Donna M. Denno %A Grace C. John-Stewart %A Judd L. Walson %A Michael B. Arndt %A Mustafa Mahfuz %A Rashidul Haque %A Tahmeed Ahmed %A William A. Petri %A Jr. %A in coordination with the MAL-ED Network Project %J Archive of "The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene". %D 2016 %R 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0098 %X Environmental enteropathy (EE), a subclinical intestinal disorder characterized by mucosal inflammation, reduced barrier integrity, and malabsorption, appears to be associated with increased risk of stunting in children in low- and middle-income countries. Fecal biomarkers indicative of EE (neopterin [NEO], myeloperoxidase [MPO], and alpha-1-antitrypsin [AAT]) have been negatively associated with 6-month linear growth. Associations between fecal markers (NEO, MPO, and AAT) and short-term linear growth were examined in a birth cohort of 246 children in Bangladesh. Marker concentrations were categorized in stool samples based on their distribution (< first quartile, interquartile range, > third quartile), and a 10-point composite EE score was calculated. Piecewise linear mixed-effects models were used to examine the association between markers measured quarterly (in months 3¨C21, 3¨C9, and 12¨C21) and 3-month change in length-for-age z-score (¦¤LAZ). Children with high MPO levels at quarterly time points lost significantly more LAZ per 3-month period during the second year of life than those with low MPO (¦¤LAZ = £¿0.100; 95% confidence interval = £¿0.167 to £¿0.032). AAT and NEO were not associated with growth; however, composite EE score was negatively associated with subsequent 3-month growth. In this cohort of children from an urban setting in Bangladesh, elevated MPO levels, but not NEO or AAT levels, were associated with decreases in short-term linear growth during the second year of life, supporting previous data suggesting the relevance of MPO as a marker of EE %U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5014281/