Nutritional, psychosocial and environmental determinants of neurodevelopment and child mental health (COINCIDE): an integrated assessment approach using a developmental framework perspective

Over 250 million children, including 65 million in India, are at risk of sub-optimal brain development due to exposures to a wide range of adversities (nutritional, psychosocial, environmental pollutants). 13.8% of Indian children aged 4-16-years have a mental health disorder which is likely aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although evidence on individual effects of key determinants on neurodevelopment and child mental health (CMH) are available, these are mostly for the first 1000 days, and their cumulative and interaction effects remain unexplored.

Further, specific pathways through which these exposures interact with socioeconomic factors to result in differential outcomes remain unclear.

Key goals: We aim to evaluate the independent, cumulative and interaction effects of nutritional, psychosocial and environmental exposures on concurrent and prospective measures of neurodevelopment and CMH from pregnancy till children are nine years old in two diverse settings in India.

Also, we will describe the pathways through which these exposures interact with socioeconomic factors at the individual and household levels, resulting in differential outcomes.

By synchronizing the investments in two cohorts, we will assess the comprehensive range of exposures on childhood neurodevelopment and mental health. This evidence will inform the design of a multicomponent intervention framework for future implementation.