A Cross-Sectional Study of the Relationship Between Dietary Micronutrient Intake, Cognition and Academic Performance Among School-Aged Children in Taabo, Côte d’Ivoire

Background: /Objectives: Adequate nutrient intake is crucial for cognitive development and academic performance in schoolchildren. This study assessed the association between dietary nutrient intake and cognition and academic performance in school-aged children from Taabo, Côte d’Ivoire. Methods: A total of 251 schoolchildren aged 6-12 years were randomly selected from seven public primary schools. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24-hour recalls, cognitive skills with Raven's Progressive Colored Matrices and academic performance using school results in mathematics and literature. Results: More than half of the participants had adequate intakes of vitamin A (55.8%) vitamin B6, (61.0%) vitamin B12 (61.0%) and omega-3 fatty acids (70.1%), while most had inadequate intakes of iron (96.8%), zinc (100%) thiamin (99.2%), riboflavin (99.6%) and folate (96.8%). Thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, zinc and a nutrient blend (iron, zinc, thiamin, riboflavin and folate) showed significant associations with cognitive scores (p < 0.05). Additionally, higher intakes of thiamin (AOR = 6.3; 95% CI: 2.5-16.0, p < 0.001) and riboflavin (AOR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.5-7.8, p = 0.003) were linked to increased odds of better cognitive performance compared to lower intakes. No consistent associations were found with academic performance. Conclusions: Cognition-related micronutrients are largely inadequate among school-aged children involved in this study. While intakes of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, zinc, and nutrient blend were significantly associated with cognition, no associations were found with academic performance. Further studies exploring such links are needed, especially those involving interventions.