The influence of local market and household factors on aflatoxin presence in maize and symptoms of its exposure to children in Guatemala

ABSTRACT

Recent evidence supports the hypothesis that aflatoxin exposure from maize can influence malnutrition rates among children. Therefore, in Guatemala we investigated two questions; which maize sources exposed households to higher risk of aflatoxin exposure symptoms and what the risk factors were for each maize source, pre- and post-maize harvest. Survey data and household maize samples were collected in October 2016 (pre-harvest) and February 2017 (post-harvest) in San Vicente, Guatemala. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and odds ratios were used to assess the data. The results suggested that households which purchased maize from the market had 3.64 higher odds of high levels of aflatoxin. The models identified that good market purchase habits were significant for market-based maize sources while improved post-harvest practices and improved types of maize storage were significant for subsistence-based maize sources. Cumulative results suggest multiple interventions may be effective but are dependent on time of year and source of maize.

KEYWORDS:

• Subsistence farming
• aflatoxin exposure
• maize markets
• structural equation modeling (SEM)
• low-income communities

Acknowledgments

This study would not have been possible without the contributions of Alene Seiler-Martinez, Ron Riley, and the local San Vicente team.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Data availability

Data will be made available upon reasonable request. Contact the corresponding author for further details.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Schowalter Foundation and the Conflict and Development Foundation of Texas A&M. Neither foundation had a role in the design, analysis or writing of this article.