Cross-Sectional Study of Malnutrition and Associated Factors among School Aged Children in Rural and Urban Settings of Fogera and Libo Kemkem Districts, Ethiopia

Abstract

IntroductionLittle information is available on malnutrition-related factors among school-aged children ≥5 years in Ethiopia. This study describes the prevalence of stunting and thinness and their related factors in Libo Kemkem and Fogera, Amhara Regional State and assesses differences between urban and rural areas.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, anthropometrics and individual and household characteristics data were collected from 886 children. Height-for-age z-score for stunting and body-mass-index-for-age z-score for thinness were computed. Dietary data were collected through a 24-hour recall. Bivariate and backward stepwise multivariable statistical methods were employed to assess malnutrition-associated factors in rural and urban communities.ResultsThe prevalence of stunting among school-aged children was 42.7% in rural areas and 29.2% in urban areas, while the corresponding figures for thinness were 21.6% and 20.8%. Age differences were significant in both strata. In the rural setting, fever in the previous 2 weeks (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.23–2.32), consumption of food from animal sources (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.29–0.91) and consumption of the family's own cattle products (OR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.27–0.93), among others factors were significantly associated with stunting, while in the urban setting, only age (OR: 4.62; 95% CI: 2.09–10.21) and years of schooling of the person in charge of food preparation were significant (OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79–0.97). Thinness was statistically associated with number of children living in the house (OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.03–1.60) and family rice cultivation (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.41–0.99) in the rural setting, and with consumption of food from animal sources (OR: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10–0.67) and literacy of head of household (OR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.09–0.65) in the urban setting.ConclusionThe prevalence of stunting was significantly higher in rural areas, whereas no significant differences were observed for thinness. Various factors were associated with one or both types of malnutrition, and varied by type of setting. To effectively tackle malnutrition, nutritional programs should be oriented to local needs.

Nutritional Status of Pupils Attending Public Schools with and without School Feeding Programme in Hohoe Municipality, Ghana

“…This finding is in agreement with the findings of the Ghana demographic and Health survey in children under-five years, which show higher proportion of underweight among rural children compared to those in urban areas [37]. Another study in Ethiopia [38] also found high proportion of malnutrition among rural school children compared to their urban counterparts.…”

“…For example, Appiah and Laar [32] in 2014 found the proportion of wasting and stunting to be 19.4% and 50.3% respectively in the Nkwanta South District of the Volta Region. Similarly, in 2013, over 40% of stunting and 20% of wasting were observed among school children in rural Ethiopia [38].…”

Intestinal helminth infections and dietary diversity score predict nutritional status of urban schoolchildren from southern Ethiopia

“…The magnitude of stunting in this study was comparable with the nationwide estimate (22%) for the same age group and reported in other studies in Ethiopia [15,20,33]. On the other hand, acute malnutrition as indicated by wasting was relatively low compared to the nationwide prevalence (23%) and other studies which could be due to a lesser drought and related nutritional insults in the study area compared to some areas of the country [20,34]. Stunting was higher among boys than girls (30 vs. 22%; p-value = 0.037); a similar finding to previous studies from Ethiopia and other countries [1,13,20].…”

Nutrition Intakes and Nutritional Status of School Age Children in Ghana

“…Similar results have been reported in Ethiopia and Kenya among school age children (Herrador et al, 2014;Mwaniki & Makokha, 2013). Younger age associated with stunting may be due to the fact that these SAC may have had little nutritional deficit during their pre-school age.…”