Saqmolo' Study

Study Overview

Examining the Influence of Daily Complementary Feeding of Eggs on Infant Development and Growth in Guatemala (Saqmolo') is a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of adding one egg daily to the local standard of nutrition care for Mayan infants age 6-9 months when compared to the standard nutrition care alone. This study focuses on the following outcomes: child development, growth, and diet quality. A total of 1,200 infants were recruited for this trial in rural Guatemala and includes a sub-study to evaluate the microbiome on a subset of infants.

This study was supported by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation via an investigator-initiated research grant from the Egg Nutrition Center.

See Saqmolo' Study Protocol Paper

Abstract: Adequate nutrition during the complementary feeding period is critical for optimal child growth and development and for promoting long-term educational attainment and economic potential. To prioritize limited public health resources, there is a need for studies that rigorously assess the influence of multicomponent integrated nutrition interventions in children younger than age 2 years in different contexts. This study aimed to describe the rationale and protocol for the Saqmolo' Project using the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) guidelines. The Saqmolo' (ie, "egg" in the Mayan language, Kaqchiquel) Project is an individually randomized, partially blinded, controlled comparative effectiveness trial to evaluate the influence of adding delivery of a single whole egg per day to local standard nutrition care (ie, growth monitoring, medical care, deworming medication, multiple micronutrient powders for point-of-use food fortification [chispitas], and individualized complementary and responsive feeding education for caregivers) for 6 months, compared with the local standard nutrition care package alone, on child development, growth, and diet quality measures in rural indigenous Mayan infants aged 6 to 9 months at baseline (N = 1,200). The study is being executed in partnership with the Wuqu' Kawoq/Maya Health Alliance, a primary health care organization located in central Guatemala. Primary outcomes for this study are changes in global development scores, assessed using the Guide for Monitoring Global Development and the Caregiver Reported Child Development Instruments. Secondary outcomes include changes in infant hemoglobin, anthropometric measures (including z scores for weight for age, length for age, weight for length, and head circumference for age), and diet quality as measured using the World Health Organization's infant and young child feeding indicators. The results of the Saqmolo' Project may help to inform public health decision making regarding resource allocation for effective nutrition interventions during the complementary feeding period.

Status Updates

• Main study recruitment completed February 2023 and sub-study recruitment to be completed Summer 2023.
• Data collection for the Saqmolo' study to be completed in Fall 2023.
• The data analysis phase has begun.