Age heaping among individuals in selected South Asian countries: evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Manish Singh ◽  
Gyan Chandra Kashyap ◽  
Madhumita Bango

Abstract Age misreporting is a common phenomenon in Demographic and Health Surveys, and there are numerous reasons for this. The trend and pattern of disparity in age heaping vary between countries. The present study assesses age heaping in the selected South Asian countries of Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan using data from the most recent round of the Demographic and Health Survey. The respondent sample sizes were 203,703 for Afghanistan, 2,869,043 for India, 49,064 for Nepal, 81,618 for Bangladesh and 100,868 for Pakistan. Age heaping was assessed by respondent’s age, education level, sex and level of education. Whipple’s index was calculated to assess systematic heaping on certain ages as a result of digit preference. Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India showed stronger preference for ages ending with the digits ‘0’ and ‘5’ compared with Pakistan and Nepal among uneducated respondents. On the other hand, strong avoidance of ages ending in the digits ‘1’, ‘4’ and ‘9’ was observed in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India. However, urban–rural place of residence was not found to be associated with digit preference in the study countries. Among males, age misreporting with the final digits ‘0’ and ‘5’ was highest in Bangladesh, followed by Afghanistan and India, and Nepal showed the least displacement. Strong digit preference and avoidance, and upper age displacement, were witnessed in the surveys conducted in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India on the parameters of sex and education level. Innovative methods of data collection with the measurement and minimization of errors using statistical techniques should be used to ensure accuracy of age data.

Author(s):  
Nidhi Wali ◽  
Kingsley E. E. Agho ◽  
Andre M. N. Renzaho

Child wasting continues to be a major public health concern in South Asia, having a prevalence above the emergency threshold. This paper aimed to identify factors associated with wasting among children aged 0–23 months, 24–59 months, and 0–59 months in South Asia. A weighted sample of 564,518 children aged 0–59 months from the most recent demographic and health surveys (2014–2018) of five countries in South Asia was combined. Multiple logistic regression analyses that adjusted for clustering and sampling weights were used to examine associated factors. Wasting prevalence was higher for children aged 0–23 months (25%) as compared to 24–59 months (18%), with variations in prevalence across the South Asian countries. The most common factor associated with child wasting was maternal BMI [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for 0–23 months = 2.02; 95% CI: (1.52, 2.68); AOR for 24–59 months = 2.54; 95% CI: (1.83, 3.54); AOR for 0–59 months = 2.18; 95% CI: (1.72, 2.77)]. Other factors included maternal height and age, household wealth index, birth interval and order, children born at home, and access to antenatal visits. Study findings suggest need for nutrition specific and sensitive interventions focused on women, as well as adolescents and children under 2 years of age.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e032866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariha Binte Hossain ◽  
Md Shajedur Rahman Shawon ◽  
Md Shehab Uddin Al-Abid ◽  
Sultan Mahmood ◽  
Gourab Adhikary ◽  
...  

ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate the socioeconomic inequalities in the burden of underweight and overweight among children in South Asia. We also examined other factors that were associated with these outcomes independently of household’s socioeconomic status.DesignNationally-representative surveys.SettingsDemographic and Health Surveys from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Maldives and Nepal, which were conducted between 2009 and 2016.ParticipantsChildren aged 24 to 59 months with valid measurement for height and weight (n=146 996).Primary exposure and outcome measuresPrimary exposures were household’s wealth index and level of education. Underweight and overweight were defined according to the WHO and International Obesity Task Force definitions, respectively.ResultsUnderweight prevalence was 37% in Bangladesh, 38% in India, 19% in Maldives, 29% in Nepal and 28% in Pakistan. Bangladesh, India and Nepal had similar overweight prevalence (between 2% and 4%) whereas Pakistan (7%) and Maldives (9%) had higher prevalence. Households with higher wealth index or education had lower odds of having underweight children. Adjusted ORs of underweight for richest versus poorest households were 0.4 (95% CI: 0.3 to 0.5), 0.5 (95% CI: 0.5 to 0.6), 0.5 (95% CI: 0.2 to 1.4), 0.5 (95% CI: 0.3 to 0.8) and 0.7 (95% CI: 0.5 to 1.1) for Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan, respectively. Compared with poorest households, richest households were more likely to have overweight children in all countries except Pakistan, but such associations were not significant after adjustment for other factors. There were higher odds of having overweight children in households with higher education in Bangladesh (OR 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3 to 3.5)), India (OR 1.2 (95% CI: 1.2 to 1.3)) and Pakistan (OR 1.8 (95% CI: 1.1 to 2.9)) when compared with households with no education. Maternal nutritional status was consistently associated with children’s nutritional outcomes after adjustments for socioeconomic status.ConclusionsOur study provides evidence for socioeconomic inequalities for childhood underweight and overweight in South Asian countries, although the directions of associations for underweight and overweight might be different.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Betregiorgis Zegeye ◽  
Gebretsadik Shibre ◽  
Gashaw Garedew Woldeamanuel

Abstract Background The growing rates of obesity in developing countries are alarming. There is a paucity of evidence about disparities of obesity in Lesotho. This study examined socioeconomic and area-based inequalities in obesity among non-pregnant women in Lesotho. Methods Data were extracted from the 2004, 2009 and 2014 Lesotho Demographic and Health Surveys (LDHS) and analyzed through the recently updated Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) of the World Health Organization. Obesity prevalence was disaggregated by four equity stratifiers, namely education, wealth, residence and sub-national region. For each equity stratifier, simple and complex as well as relative and absolute summary measures were calculated. A 95% confidence interval was used to measure statistical significance of findings. Results We noticed substantial wealth-driven (D = -21.10, 95% CI; − 25.94, − 16.26), subnational region (PAR = -11.82, 95%CI; − 16.09, − 7.55) and urban-rural (− 9.82, 95% CI; − 13.65, − 5.99) inequalities in obesity prevalence without the inequalities improved over time in all the studied years. However, we did not identify educational inequality in obesity. Conclusions Wealth-driven and geographical inequalities was identified in Lesotho in all the studied time periods while education related inequalities did not appear during the same time period. All population groups in the country need to be reached with interventions to reduce the burden of obesity in the country.


2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gebretsadik Shibre ◽  
Betregiorgis Zegeye ◽  
Gashaw Garedew Woldeamanuiel ◽  
Wassie Negash ◽  
Gorems Lemma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background While the prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, the growing rates of overweight and obesity in developing countries are disquieting. Obesity is widely recognized as a risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Available evidence on whether obesity has been more prevalent among higher or lower socioeconomic groups, across regions and urban-rural women’s are inconsistent. This study examined magnitude of and trends in socioeconomic, urban-rural and sub-national region inequalities in obesity prevalence among non-pregnant women in Chad. Method Using cross-sectional data from Chad Demographic and Health Surveys (DHSs) conducted in 1996, 2004 and 2014; we used the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) to analyze socio-economic, urban-rural and regional inequalities in obesity prevalence among non-pregnant women aged 15–49 years. Inequalities were assessed using four equity stratifiers namely wealth index, educational level, place of residence and subnational region. We presented inequalities using simple and complex as well as relative and absolute summary measures such as Difference (D), Population Attributable Risk (PAR), Population Attributable Fraction (PAF) and Ratio (R). Results Though constant pattern overtime, both wealth-driven and place of residence inequality were observed in all three surveys by Difference measure and in the first and last surveys by Ratio measure. Similarly, including the recent survey (D = -2.80, 95% CI:-4.15, − 1.45, R = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.50) absolute (in 1996 & 2014 survey) and relative (in all three surveys) educational status inequality with constant pattern were observed. Substantial absolute (PAR = -2.2, 95% CI: − 3.21, − 1.34) and relative (PAF = − 91.9, 95% CI: − 129.58, − 54.29) regional inequality was observed with increasing and constant pattern by simple (D) and complex (PAR, PAF) measures. Conclusion The study showed socioeconomic and area-based obesity inequalities that disfavored women in higher socioeconomic status and residing in urban areas. Prevention of obesity prevalence should be government and stakeholders’ priority through organizing the evidence, health promotion and prevention interventions for at risk population and general population.


Author(s):  
Wenjun Zhu ◽  
Si Zhu ◽  
Bruno F. Sunguya ◽  
Jiayan Huang

Our study aims to examine the disparity of under-5 child stunting prevalence between urban and rural areas of Tanzania in the past three decades, and to explore factors affecting the rural–urban disparity. Secondary analyses of Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys (TDHS) data drawn from 1991–1992, 1996, 1999, 2004–2005, 2009–2010, and 2015–2016 surveys were conducted. Under-5 child stunting prevalence was calculated separately for rural and urban children and its decline trends were examined by chi-square tests. Descriptive analyses were used to present the individual-level, household-level, and societal-level characteristics of children, while multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine determinants of stunting in rural and urban areas, respectively. Additive interaction effects were estimated between residence and other covariates. The results showed that total stunting prevalence was declining in Tanzania, but urban–rural disparity has widened since the decline was slower in the rural area. No interaction effect existed between residence and other determinants, and the urban–rural disparity was mainly caused by the discrepancy of the individual-level and household-level factors between rural and urban households. As various types of determinants exist, multisector nutritional intervention strategies are required to address the child stunting problem. Meanwhile, the intervention should focus on targeting vulnerable children, rather than implementing different policies in rural and urban areas.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 3048-3057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloe M Harvey ◽  
Marie-Louise Newell ◽  
Sabu S Padmadas

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the socio-economic differentials underlying minimum dietary diversity (MDD) among children aged 6–23 months in three economically diverse South-East Asian countries.DesignThe outcome variable MDD was defined as the proportion of children aged 6–23 months who received foods from four of the seven recommended food groups within the 24 h prior to interview. The association between socio-economic factors and MDD, adjusting for relevant characteristics, was examined using logistic regression.SettingWe used cross-sectional population data from recent Demographic and Health Surveys from Cambodia (2014), Myanmar (2015–16) and Indonesia (2012).SubjectsTotal of 8364 children aged 6–23 months.ResultsApproximately half of all children met the MDD, varying from 47·7 % in Cambodia (n1023) to 58·2 % in Indonesia (n2907) and 24·6 % in Myanmar (n301). The likelihood (adjusted OR; 95 % CI) of meeting MDD increased for children in the richest households (Cambodia: 2·4; 1·7, 3·4; Myanmar: 1·8; 1·1, 3·0; Indonesia: 2·0; 1·6, 2·5) and those residing in urban areas (Cambodia: 1·4; 1·1, 1·9; Myanmar: 1·7; 1·2, 2·4; Indonesia: 1·7; 1·5, 1·9). MDD deprivation was most severe among children from the poorest households in rural areas. The association between mother’s labour force participation and MDD was positive in all three countries but reached significance only in Indonesia (1·3; 1·1, 1·5).ConclusionsMDD deprivation among young children was significantly high in socio-economically disadvantaged families in all three study settings. MDD requirements are not being met for approximately half of young children in these three South-East Asian countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Kiran Paudel ◽  
Prashamsa Bhandari ◽  
Yadav Prasad Joshi

The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is currently a major threat to global health in an unprecedented manner. The global pandemic of COVID-19 has affected 215 countries and territories including Nepal. Until 1st June 2020, altogether 1,811 COVID-19 positive cases were diagnosed using RT-PCR. This study aimed to analyze the status of COVID-19 cases in Nepal and South Asian countries. A retrospective study from 23rd January to 1st June 2020 was conducted using data of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal and Worldometer homepages. The primary case records during the pre and post lockdown periods were examined. Spatial distribution was observed. An exponential trend line was plotted and COVID-19 situation in South Asian countries was assessed. Of 1,811 COVID-19 cases, the highest number (38.3%) was reported in Province 2. Out of 77 districts, 59 were affected. In Fifty-eight districts, primary cases appeared during the lockdown period. The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases showed the exponential pattern of distribution in Nepal. In South Asian countries, India had the highest number of cases and case fatality rate (CFR). There were no cases of CFR in Bhutan. The Novel Coronavirus emergence in Nepal has become a serious challenge to the various sectors including public health. The emergence of primary cases even in the lockdown period needs a detailed study in the future.


1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer

SummaryThis paper investigates the normative and behavioural dimensions of son preference in Morocco and Tunisia, using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of the two countries. It considers three measures of son preference: (1) mothers' ideal number of children, and any preference for having more sons than daughters; (2) the desire for additional children, given their existing family; (3) reported use of contraception in relation to the existing number of children of each sex. The analyses indicate a moderate preference for sons in both countries, and suggest that this preference is somewhat stronger in Tunisia. These findings are interpreted within the cultural context of the two countries, and in particular societal notions of women's status.


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