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STUDY PROTOCOL article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health and Nutrition
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1505780
This article is part of the Research Topic Parasites effect on the gut microbiome View all articles

Microbiota, parasitic infections and its relationship with nutritional status and neurocognitive functioning in children from Ecuador -Proyecto Guagua: Research protocol for a crosssectional study

Provisionally accepted
Sandra Victoria Abril-Ulloa Sandra Victoria Abril-Ulloa 1Tannia Valeria Carpio-Arias Tannia Valeria Carpio-Arias 2*Renata Alejandra Alvarado-Barba Renata Alejandra Alvarado-Barba 2Cristina Gabriela Ríos-Romero Cristina Gabriela Ríos-Romero 2Pamela Vinueza-Veloz Pamela Vinueza-Veloz 2Sueny Paloma Lima-dos-Santos Sueny Paloma Lima-dos-Santos 3Igor Eduardo Astudillo-Skliarova Igor Eduardo Astudillo-Skliarova 2Ruth Irene Arias-Gutiérrez Ruth Irene Arias-Gutiérrez 4Manuel Pérez-Quintana Manuel Pérez-Quintana 4Henk-Jan Boele Henk-Jan Boele 5Maria Fernanda Vinueza-Veloz Maria Fernanda Vinueza-Veloz 6*
  • 1 University of Cuenca, Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
  • 2 Escuela Superior Politécnica del Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador
  • 3 Ohio University, Athens, West Virginia, United States
  • 4 Universidad Estatal Amazónica, Puyo, Pastaza, Ecuador
  • 5 Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
  • 6 University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: This protocol outlines the Proyecto Guagua, which aims to explore the relationship between the characteristics of the gut microbiota, parasitic infections, nutritional status, and neurocognitive functioning in school-age children in Ecuador.Proyecto Guagua is a cross-sectional observational study funded by the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo. It is being carried out in several counties across different geographical regions in Ecuador, including Galápagos. The study targets children regularly attending school, aged 6 to 12. We aim to recruit 450 children, with data already collected from nearly 300 participants (67%). Enrolled children undergo comprehensive evaluations assessing nutritional status, body composition, motor learning, social skills, cognitive ability, sleep habits, and physical activity. Caretakers and school teachers are interviewed regarding hygiene, eating habits, and food handling. Stool samples are collected to analyse the gut microbiota and determine the presence of parasites. In the analysis phase, we aim to describe differences in microbiota population structure and diversity among undernourished and obese/overweight children and children with parasitosis compared to their peers. We also plan to test the hypothesis that an altered microbiota mediates the influence of malnutrition on neurocognitive functioning and parasitosis.Ethics and dissemination: Proyecto Guagua received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of Universidad de Cuenca in July 2022. Following the pilot phase, an addendum and minor changes to the study design were approved in October 2022. Written consent was obtained from parents before enrolling their children in the study. Parents and children were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time. The findings of "Proyecto Guagua" will be disseminated through open-access, peer-reviewed publications and presented at local and international scientific events.

    Keywords: Malnutrition, Ecuador, Children, Neurocognitive abilities, Parasitic Infection, Motor Learnin, Social Skills, microbiota

    Received: 03 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Abril-Ulloa, Carpio-Arias, Alvarado-Barba, Ríos-Romero, Vinueza-Veloz, Lima-dos-Santos, Astudillo-Skliarova, Arias-Gutiérrez, Pérez-Quintana, Boele and Vinueza-Veloz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Tannia Valeria Carpio-Arias, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador
    Maria Fernanda Vinueza-Veloz, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.