Undernutrition and associated risk factors among school age children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Abebe Animut¹  Abraham Degarege²  Dawit Degarege³ 

[1] Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA;Lia Foundation, 1695, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;

关键词: Undernutrition;    Stunting;    Underweight;    Risk factors;    Children;    Addis Ababa;    Ethiopia;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-015-1714-5

 received in 2014-08-25, accepted in 2015-03-30,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCauses of child undernutrition are diverse and change in space and time. Investigating current determinants of undernutrition remains vital to design an effective intervention strategy. The study assessed prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among children living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross-sectional study was conducted in 459 school age children and their parents or caregivers living in Lideta sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants were selected using a multi-stage simple random sampling technique. Height and weight of children was measured and their parents or care givers were interviewed for factors associated with undernutrition.ResultsAbout 31% (n = 141) of the children were undernourished (19.6% stunted, 15.9% underweight). Being male, higher birth order (>2), larger family size (6–8), low meal frequency (≤3 times) in a day prior to the survey and mud floor house were significantly associated with undernutrition. Similarly, the risk of underweight increased significantly with an increase in age, birth order, family size and also the absence of hand washing facilities. The odds of undernutrition was lower in children born to 20–30 years old mothers compared to those born to mothers younger than 20 years.ConclusionsUndernutrition is prevalent among school age children living in Lideta sub city, Addis Ababa. Policy makers should consider school age children in their nutrition policy documents and implement screening program and intervention strategy.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Degarege et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015