Malnutrition and child mortality: are socioeconomic factors important?

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Bhuiya ◽  
Bogdan Wojtyniak ◽  
Rezaul Karim

SummaryThe influences of household economic condition, maternal education, sex, and nutritional status of children on mortality were examined using multivariate analytical techniques. Weights of around 1700 children aged 2–60 months in five villages of Matlab, Bangladesh, were taken during the first half of 1981. The children were followed for 18 months and their survival was recorded. The severely malnourished children had a risk of death nine times that of their counterparts with better nutritional status. Female children had a higher risk of death than the males. Mother's education and economic condition of household also showed negative relationships with the risk of death, but the effect of mother's education was modified by economic condition and sex of the children.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Allen ◽  
Lindsay Mallick

Abstract Objectives The height-for-age index, a useful marker of health, is not sensitive to recent nutritional insufficiencies but instead reflects cumulative growth deficiencies and linear growth retardation. Low height-for-age, known as stunting, reflects malnutrition over an extended period and can be affected by long-term or chronic morbidity. The weight-for-height index reveals malnourished children at a point in the time and the weight-for-age index reflects underweight children. This study examined trends and sociodemographic inequities in the nutritional status of children under 5 over a 14-year period (2000-2014) in Cambodia. Methods This analysis used data from four Cambodia Demographic and Health Surveys (CDHS) surveys in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2014 to investigate child nutritional status over time. We conducted tests of association to identify significant changes between each survey, as well as between the first survey and the most recent survey. We performed additional tests of associations to assess the significance of relationships between these indicators and sociodemographic and health covariates within each survey and across surveys. These variables included place of residence (urban or rural), region, wealth quintile, and mother's education. We also included maternal age at birth, birth order, birth interval, ANC, facility delivery, and assistance at birth. Results The percentage of children who are stunted in Cambodia significantly decreased over the period of the four surveys, from 50% in 2000 to 32% in 2014. We found persisting significant differences in the percentages of stunted children in nearly all background characteristics including rural-urban residence, region, wealth, mother's education, age, and smoking status, location of and assistance at delivery, and child's current age. Conclusions Cambodia did not meet the MDG target for stunting by 2015, but the 17% significant decrease achieved in stunting from 2000 to 2014 is promising. This analysis shows gains in every background characteristic over the 14-year period. These gains reflect the impact of the several national programs that have focused on improving nutrition over the past decade; nevertheless, regional and wealth disparities persist and should be addressed. Funding Sources USAID.


Author(s):  
Izzatirahmi Izzatirahmi ◽  
Yozza Hazmira ◽  
Husna Radhiatul ◽  
Rahmy Hafifatul Auliya

This study aims to analyze  factors that affect the nutritional status of children aged 6-23 months. The data used were acquired from a survey conducted at mother and child health services (‘posyandu’), daycares, and households in four districts in Padang City, West Sumatera. In this study,  variables that are hypothesized to contribute to nutritional status are sex, birth weight, family income, number of family dependents, exclusive breastfeeding status, mother's employment status, education level, knowledge and nutritional behavior. Data analysis was done by using tree structure analysis namely CART method. It is showed that variables which significantly affect the nutritional status of children aged 6-23 months are mother’s education level, knowledge and nutritional behavior. Children with low mother’s education level have higher prevalence of severely underweight and underweight when mother’s knowledge is poor or enough. in the group of children whose mothers have higher level of education, the variable that has a significant influence on child’s nutritional status is mother's nutritional behavior. In the group of children whose mothers have higher level of education, the variable that has a significant influence on child’s nutritional status is mother's nutritional behavior, the prevalence of overweight is likely to be high in children whose mothers nutritional behaviour is not good. Therefore, intervention from related parties is needed to implement programs for improving mother's knowledge about nutrition that will lead to better  child’s nutritional status.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (15) ◽  
pp. 2734-2742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeljka Stamenkovic ◽  
Bosiljka Djikanovic ◽  
Ulrich Laaser ◽  
Vesna Bjegovic-Mikanovic

AbstractObjectiveThe present study aimed to identify the role of mother’s education in the nutritional status of children aged 2–5 years in Serbia.DesignNationally representative population-based study. Age- and gender-specific BMI percentiles of children were analysed. In accordance with the WHO growth reference, children with BMI less than the 5th percentile were considered undernourished. Logistic regression was used to calculate the association between mother’s education and other socio-economic determinants as possible confounders.SettingUNICEF’s fourth Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, conducted in both Roma and non-Roma settlements in Serbia.SubjectsChildren (n 2603) aged 2–5 years (mean age 3·05 years).ResultsLess than 5 % of children aged 2–5 years were undernourished. There were significantly more undernourished children among the Roma population, in the capital of Serbia and among those whose mothers were less educated. There were statistically significant differences according to mother’s education in all socio-economic characteristics (ethnicity, area, region of living and wealth index). Mother’s level of education proved to be the most important factor for child’s nutritional status; place of living (region) was also associated.ConclusionsMother’s education is the most significant predictor of children’s undernutrition. It confirms that investment in females’ education will bring benefits and progress not only for women and their children, but also for society as a whole.


2021 ◽  
pp. 238008442110021
Author(s):  
O.O. Olatosi ◽  
A.A. Alade ◽  
T. Naicker ◽  
T. Busch ◽  
A. Oyapero ◽  
...  

Introduction: Malnutrition in children is one of the most prevalent global health challenges, and malnourished children have a higher risk of death from childhood diseases. Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Complications from ECC such as pain, loss of tooth/teeth, and infection can undermine a child’s nutrition and growth. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the severity of decay, missing, and filled tooth (dmft) by nutritional status using the z scores of the anthropometric measurements: height for age (HFA), weight for age (WFA), weight for height (WFH), and body mass index for age (BMIA) among children with ECC in Nigeria. Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in 5 local government areas (LGAs) in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used. Results: A total of 273 cases of ECC were included in the analyses (mean age 4.19 ± 0.96 y). Overall, the mean dmft was 3.04 ± 2.28, and most (96%) were accounted for by untreated decay. The distribution of dmft within the different z score categories of BMIA (<–3 = severely wasted, –2 to –3 = wasted, –2 to +2 = normal, +2 to +3 = overweight and >+3 = obese) showed the highest dmft scores among the combined severely wasted and wasted groups, lowest among children with normal z scores, and intermediate in the overweight and obese groups. There was a significant negative correlation between BMIA z score, WFH z score, and dmft ( r = −0.181, P < 0.05 and r = −0.143, P < 0.05, respectively). However, the correlations between HFA z score, WFA z score, and dmft were positive but not significant ( r = 0.048, P = 0.44 and r = 0.022, P = 0.77, respectively). Conclusion: Our study showed an increased severity of dental caries among severely wasted or wasted children with ECC compared to those of normal or overweight. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results from this study will raise awareness among clinicians and policy makers on the need for a primary prevention program for early childhood caries in countries with high burden of malnutrition and limited resources. Also, it will help draw the attention of clinicians to the caries status of malnourished children that can be managed to improve the nutritional outcomes.


2020 ◽  
pp. 51-54
Author(s):  
T. Pravin ◽  
P.K. Govindarajan ◽  
A. John William Felix

Background: Under-five children are more vulnerable to malnutrition especially in rural areas resulting in more morbidity and mortality among them. The present study is aimed to assess the prevalence of malnutrition among children of 1-5 years of age in tribal hamlets of Valparai block, Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu. Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 95 children in the age group of 1-5 years during December-January 2020. Anthropometric measurements were taken. The indicators of nutritional status of children like stunting, underweight, and wasting were expressed using WHO growth standards. Results: The overall prevalence of malnutrition in our study was 31.6%. Among the 30 (31.6%) malnourished children, 40% were underweight, and 6.67% were severely underweight. 40% were stunted, of which 13.3% were severely stunted. Wasting was present in 23.3% of malnourished children. Severe wasting was not seen. Socio-demographic factors including the type of house, maternal education, BMI of the mother, age of mother at childbirth and place of delivery had significant association with malnutrition among under-five tribal children. Conclusions: Malnutrition poses a serious threat to under-five children. Though many known risk factors of malnutrition have been studied, understanding the local factors linked with malnutrition is so crucial while planning information, education, and communication programs in this area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-105
Author(s):  
Dewi Sartika Siagian ◽  
Sara Herlina

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of exclusive breastfeeding and mother's education on infant development. This research is a quantitative observational analytic with cross sectional design. The results of univariate analysis show that most babies get exclusive breastfeeding as many as 46 people (55.4%), low education as many as 56 people (67.5%) and most of the normal development of 47 people ( 56.6%). The results of bivariate analysis of exclusive breastfeeding for infant development by chi square test obtained P value <0,000. Conclusions, there is a relationship between exclusive breastfeeding on infant development and bivariate analysis of maternal education on infant development. There is a relationship between mother's education and infant development. Keywords: Exclusive ASI, Mother's Education, Infant Development


1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. O. Owolabi ◽  
J. O. Mac-Inegite ◽  
F. O. Olowoniyan ◽  
H. O. Chindo

The nutritional status of 240 children between the ages of 2 and 15 years in communities that use or do not use soya beans was evaluated by conventional methods. There were significant differences (p <.05) in the nutritional status of pre-school (2–5 yr) and school-age children (6–15 yr) in the three communities. Using weight-for-height as an index of acute malnutrition, 32.5%, 25.5%, and 22.6% of preschool children were normal in Kurmin Masara, Kaya, and Makera, respectively, as were 44.6%, 24.4%, and 21.7% of school-age children. Kurmin Masara, a community producing and using soya beans, had a significantly higher percentage (p < .05) of nutritionally normal and a lower percentage of severely malnourished children than the other two villages. Generally, malnutrition was more pronounced in school-age children in the three communities. Soya bean accounted for 34.4%, 28.5%, and 1.3% of the protein intake of children 2 to 15 years of age in Kurmin Masara, Kaya, and Makera, respectively. Our findings appear to validate the importance of soya bean in the diet of children, especially in this period of economic recession when animal protein sources are very expensive. Extension service efforts are necessary in Nigeria and other African countries to increase soya bean production and use to improve the nutritional status of the population, particularly young children.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Pikli Khanra ◽  
Kaushik Bose ◽  
Raja Chakraborty

Abstract Maternal education plays a central role in children’s health and nutrition. Living conditions and socioeconomic status are linked with mother’s education, which in turn determines the health and development of a child. The Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) is a single indicator that reflects overall rate of three conventional indices of undernutrition: underweight, stunting and wasting. The study was undertaken among 621 rural Bengalee children (308 boys and 313 girls) aged 3–12 years from the Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. Height (cm) and weight (kg) were recorded and NCHS standard values used to calculate z-scores (<–2SD). The same data were used to calculate CIAF as an indicator of ‘anthropometric failure’ (AF) or undernutrition. The prevalence of AF among the children was 59.40%. Chi-squared analysis was employed to evaluate the significance of differences in the prevalence of CIAF between the sexes and the association between nutritional indicators and socioeconomic parameters in the two sexes. Multiple binary logistic regression (MBLR) analyses (including the forward stepwise method) were also performed. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the risk of having AF. Results showed that mother’s education was significantly associated with undernutrition (AF) controlling for the other factors considered. A very high prevalence of undernutrition is persisting in this region of India despite national nutritional supplementation programmes being operational. More attention to the improvement of living conditions and hygiene, and more particularly the education of women, in this population might be effective in attaining improved child growth and health.


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