Prevalence and predictors of undernutrition among infants aged six and twelve months in Butajira, Ethiopia: The P-MaMiE Birth Cohort

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Girmay Medhin¹  Bogale Worku²  Atalay Alem³  Charlotte Hanlon⁴  Mark Tomlinson⁵  Fikru Tesfaye⁶  Michael Dewey⁷  Martin Prince⁷ 

[1] Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Health Service and Population Research Department, King's College London (Institute of Psychiatry), London, UK;Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa;Department of Reproductive Health and Nutrition, School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Health Service and Population Research Department, King's College London (Institute of Psychiatry), London, UK;

关键词: Poverty Index;    Last Menstrual Period;    Infant Feeding Practice;    Child Undernutrition;    Maternal Nutritional Status;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-10-27

 received in 2009-04-17, accepted in 2010-01-20,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundChild undernutrition is a major public health problem in low income countries. Prospective studies of predictors of infant growth in rural low-income country settings are relatively scarce but vital to guide intervention efforts.MethodsA population-based sample of 1065 women in the third trimester of pregnancy was recruited from the demographic surveillance site (DSS) in Butajira, south-central Ethiopia, and followed up until the infants were one year of age. After standardising infant weight and length using the 2006 WHO child growth standard, a cut-off of two standard deviations below the mean defined the prevalence of stunting (length-for-age <-2), underweight (weight-for-age <-2) and wasting (weight-for-length <-2).ResultsThe prevalence of infant undernutrition was high at 6 months (21.7% underweight, 26.7% stunted and 16.7% wasted) and at 12 months of age (21.2% underweight, 48.1% stunted, and 8.4% wasted). Significant and consistent predictors of infant undernutrition in both logistic and linear multiple regression models were male gender, low birth weight, poor maternal nutritional status, poor household sanitary facilities and living in a rural residence. Compared to girls, boys had twice the odds of being underweight (OR = 2.00; 95%CI: 1.39, 2.86) at 6 months, and being stunted at 6 months (OR = 2.38, 95%CI: 1.69, 3.33) and at 12 months of age (OR = 2.08, 95%CI: 1.59, 2.89). Infant undernutrition at 6 and 12 months of age was not associated with infant feeding practices in the first two months of life.ConclusionThere was a high prevalence of undernutrition in the first year of infancy in this rural Ethiopia population, with significant gender imbalance. Our prospective study highlighted the importance of prenatal maternal nutritional status and household sanitary facilities as potential targets for intervention.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Medhin et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010