Determinants of stunting among children < 5 years of age: Evidence from 2018-2019 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed at identifying socioeconomic and environmental factors that were associated with stunting among children aged 0 to 59 months in Zambia. BACKGROUND: Hitherto, stunting continues to be a Public Health problem worldwide. A child is stunted if his or her height is less than negative two standard deviations below the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. The study aimed to explore determinants of stunting in Zambia among children (&lt; 5 years of age) using the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) 2018 to 2019 database. METHODS: A total of 7, 045 Zambian children with complete anthropometric measurements and aged 0 to 59 months were included in the study. Nutritional status was evaluated using anthropometric; height for age, as a proxy measure of stunting. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression were used to examine the association between stunting and selected environmental, maternal sociodemographic and child level variables. RESULTS: A total of 2, 479 children under the age of five found to be stunted representing a prevalence of 34.9%. Stunting was higher among male children as compared to female children (38.5% vs 31.3% respectively). Additional analysis revealed that children from households whose source of drinking water was improved (34%) were less likely to be stunted compared to children from households whose source of drinking water was non-improved (40%). Stunting was statistically significantly associated with sex and age of a child; birth size; breastfeeding; residence; maternal education; wealth index; twin births and the birth interval among siblings. Children born to mothers whose previous birth interval is less than 24 months (aOR= 1.34 95%CI: 1.13-1.58; p&lt;0.001), children from lower index households (aOR= 1.65 95%CI: 1.32-2.08; p&lt;0.001), twin births (aOR=2.65 95%CI: 1.61-4.36; p&lt;0.001), children whose mothers had primary education (aOR=1.16 95%CI 1.00-1.35; p=0.046), children coming from households whose source of drinking water was non-improved (aOR= 1.30 95%CI: 1.09-1.5: p=0.003), child not breastfed (aOR= 1.20 95%CI: 1.04-1.38; p=0.015) were more likely to be stunted. CONCLUSION: The study established that the major predictors of stunting among children under 5 years old in Zambia were sex and age of the child; birth weight; maternal education; wealth status; source of drinking water; twin births, breastfeeding, residence and the birth interval among siblings. Therefore, to reduce the burden of stunting interventions that can address these factors are required such as community based education and targeted nutritional interventions. Keywords: Children, Stunting, Zambia Demographic and Health Survey

Stunting among children aged 24–59 months and associations with sanitation, enteric infections, and environmental enteric dysfunction in rural northwest Ethiopia

“…The prevalence of stunting reported in this study is comparable with findings of similar studies conducted in different parts of Ethiopia, such as in west Guji zone (32%) 54 , southwest Ethiopia (33%) 55 , Mizan Aman town (35%) 56 , and Hosanna (35%) 57 . Similarly, this finding is comparable with findings of studies in rural Sierra Leone (32%) 58 , rural Bangladesh (27%) 59 , and rural Zambia (35%) 60 . Prevalence of stunting in the current study is also lower than findings of other studies in different parts of Ethiopia, such as in Albuko district (39%) 61 , Dembia district (46%) 62 , Angolela Tera district (39%) 63 , Boricha district (49%) 64 , Arba Minch (48%) 65 , Bule Hora district (48%) 66 , Lalibela town (47%) 67 , and Enticho town (47%) 68 .…”

Gambaran Riwayat Bayi Berat Lahir Rendah dan Pemberian ASI Eksklusif pada Balita Stunting Usia 24-59 Bulan di Puskesmas Kecamatan Pamanukan

“…Penelitian ini sejalan dengan penelitian literature review Quamme dan Iversen yang menyatakan, laki-laki berisiko mengalami stunting dibanding dengan perempuan pada anak usia < 5 tahun (17). Penelitian Nkhoma juga menyatakan hasil yang sama, bahwa kejadian stunting banyak terjadi pada lakilaki dibanding dengan wanita pada anak usia 0-59 bulan (18). Berdasarkan sysytematic review Kim dan Kang menyatakan bahwa dari dari 10 penelitian meta-analisis, menyatkan bahwa peluang terjadinya stunting pada laki-laki lebih besar 18% dibanding dengan perempuan (19).…”