Birth weight and nutritional status of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Introduction Over the past three decades, undernutrition has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years globally. Low birth weight has been identified as a risk factor for child morbidity and mortality, especially among children under five years in sub-Saharan Africa. There is, however, a paucity of empirical literature establishing the association between low birth weight and undernutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the association between birth weight and nutritional status of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Our analyses were performed on a weighted sample of 110,497 children under five years from 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys conducted from 2010 to 2019. We reported the prevalence of low birth weight and nutritional status (stunting, wasting, and underweight) for all the 32 countries using percentages. We used multilevel binary logistic regression to examine the association between birth weight and nutritional status (stunting, wasting, and underweight) of the children, controlling for covariates. The results of the regression analyses were presented using adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results The prevalence of low birth weight was 5.4%, with the highest (13.1%) and lowest (0.9%) reportedin South Africa and Chad, respectively. The pooled prevalence of wasting, underweight, and stunting were 8.1%, 17.0%, and 31.3%, respectively. Niger had the highest prevalence of wasting (21.5%) and underweight (37.1%), whereas Burundi had the highest prevalence of stunting (51.7%). We found that children with low birth weight were more likely to be stunted [aOR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.58–1.78], underweight [aOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.70–1.94], and wasted [aOR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.20–1.38] after controlling for covariates. Conclusion Our study has demonstrated that low birth weight is a key determinant of undernutrition among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. Policymakers need to give special attention to improving the nutritional status of children under-five years in sub-Saharan Africa by implementing measures aimed at enhancing the weight of children. To accelerate progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 target of ending preventable deaths of newborns and under-five by 2030, it is imperative for countries in sub-Saharan Africa to intensify interventions aimed at improving maternal and child nutrition. Specific nutrition interventions such as dietary modification counselling should prioritized.

Determinants of household-, maternal- and child-related factors associated with nutritional status among children under five in Mali: evidence from a Demographic and Health Survey, 2018

“…Low birth weight has been identified as a major risk factor for child morbidity and mortality (24) . To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3•2 target of ending preventable deaths of children under the age of five by 2030, it is crucial to aggressively intervene in enhancing birth weight through improvements in maternal and child nutrition (25) . Anaemia is highly prevalent in Mali, with approximately 82 % of children (aged 6-59 months) and 64 % of mothers (aged 15-49 years) affected, as indicated in this study.…”

“…Low birth weight has been identified as a major risk factor for child morbidity and mortality (24) . To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3·2 target of ending preventable deaths of children under the age of five by 2030, it is crucial to aggressively intervene in enhancing birth weight through improvements in maternal and child nutrition (25) .…”

Maternal mental health and nutritional status of infants aged under 6 months: a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey

“…Currently, nearly 150 million children aged under-five years are stunted, mostly in LMICs (10). Stunting prevalence is as high as 50% in some settings (11), 42% in Sub Saharan Africa and 37% in Ethiopia in 2020 (2).…”

Adolescent pregnancy is associated with child undernutrition: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Globally, an estimated 45 million children under 5 years of age are wasted and 85 million are underweight (Kerac et al, 2021;UNICEF, WHO, & World Bank Group, 2021), contributing to substantial burdens of mortality and morbidity in the short-and longer term (Black et al, 2013;Victora et al, 2021). Evidence supports an association between low birthweight and higher prevalence of wasting and underweight below 5 years of age (Aboagye et al, 2022). Experiencing an episode of wasting in early life, particularly from 0 to 3 months, has also been identified as a predictor of subsequent, and persistent, wasting and concurrent wasting and stunting, as children age (Mertens et al, 2021;.…”