Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Of the sixty nine children, those with thiamine-deficient diets, demonstrated movement and motor difficulties when compared to those whose diets were not thiamine – deficient, thus validating that subclinical Infant Thiamine Deficiency has long-term effects on children.

B vitaminsNutritional deficiencies in infancy and early childhood, when the most growth occurs, can cause problems in the brain and body 1,2.   In 2003, twenty Israeli children ended up in pediatric intensive care (PICU) due to consuming formula that was deficient in thiamine (vitamin B1). A report on 11 of the 20 children followed found that 3 died, 1 remained in a vegetative state until dying at age 7 and the other 7 all experienced neurological complications and learning disabilities at the age of 9 1,3. Researchers recently investigated the effect of thiamin deficiency in infancy on the motor function in preschool aged children 1.

Thiamine is an essential nutrient that plays a role in brain development, cardiovascular functioning, skeletal muscle functioning and the nervous system 1,4. Thiamine is considered essential because it must be consumed in the diet. Deficiency is most commonly seen in low income areas such as Laos and Bangladesh 1 Common foods with thiamine include fortified cereals, pork chops, black beans and trout 5.

Clinically, Infantile Thiamine Deficiency (ITD) can present as refusal to eat, vomiting, constipation, irritability, lethargy, and can quickly progress to congestive heart failure, edema, paralysis and even death 6.

The research study included 69 children from 5-6 years of age, of whom 39 were exposed to thiamine-deficient formula for at least 1 month during the first 2 years of life. The remaining 30 children that were not exposed to the thiamine deficient formula served as the control group. Results were as follows:

Significant DifficultiesAt Risk for DifficultiesNormal Motor Performance
Total Motor Impairment score*56.6% in exposed group
10% in unexposed
23% in exposed group
23.3% in unexposed
20.5% in exposed group
67.7% in unexposed
Static & Dynamic Balance score*48.7% in exposed group
10% in unexposed
28.2% in exposed group
16.7% in unexposed
23.1% in exposed group
73.3% in unexposed
Ball Skills**43.6% in exposed group
20% in unexposed
38.5% in exposed group
43.3% in unexposed
17.9% in exposed group
36.7% in unexposed
Manual dexterity*20.5% in exposed group
0% in unexposed
18% in exposed group
10% in unexposed
61% in exposed group
90% in unexposed

*P values between groups p<0.001
**P<0.05
Based on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children scores

In conclusion, these results indicate overall more than 50% of preschoolers that were exposed to a thiamine-deficient diet for more than 1 month in the first two years of life, showed movement and motor difficulties compared to children that were not exposed to a thiamine-deficient diet 1. This indicates that subclinical Infant Thiamine Deficiency has long-term effects on children. For this reason, the researchers recommended breastfeeding and stricter control over breast milk substitutes 1.

Note: RDA levels of thiamine: nursing infants (birth-6 months): 0.2 mg/day, 0.3 mg/day for 7-12 months, 0.5 mg/day for toddlers 1-3 years of age. 

Source: Harel Y, Zuk L, Guindy M, Nakar O, Lotan D, Fattal‐Valevski A. The effect of subclinical infantile thiamine deficiency on motor function in preschool children. Matern Child Nutr. 2017;e12397. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12397

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Jessica Patella, ND, is a naturopathic physician specializing in nutrition and homeopathic medicine and offers a holistic approach to health.  She earned her ND from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ, and is a member of the North Carolina Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Visit her website at  www.awarenesswellness.com.

References:

  1. Harel Y, Zuk L, Guindy M, Nakar O, Lotan D, Fattal‐Valevski A. The effect of subclinical infantile thiamine deficiency on motor function in preschool children. Maternal & Child Nutrition. 2017.
  2. Dias FM, de Freitas Silva DM, de Proença Doyle FC, Ribeiro AM. The connection between maternal thiamine shortcoming and offspring cognitive damage and poverty perpetuation in underprivileged communities across the world. Medical hypotheses. 2013;80(1):13-16.
  3. Mimouni-Bloch A, Goldberg-Stern H, Strausberg R, et al. Thiamine deficiency in infancy: long-term follow-up. Pediatric neurology. 2014;51(3):311-316.
  4. Bâ A. Metabolic and structural role of thiamine in nervous tissues. Cellular and molecular neurobiology. 2008;28(7):923-931.
  5. NIH. Thiamin: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. 2016; Overview of thiamin. Available at: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Thiamin-HealthProfessional/. Accessed April 3, 2017, 2017.
  6. Barennes H, Sengkhamyong K, René JP, Phimmasane M. Beriberi (thiamine deficiency) and high infant mortality in northern Laos. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9(3):e0003581.