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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Introduction - Nutrition is capable of maximize health and minimize morbidity and mortality in early childhood. In fact, some nutritional disturbances, if not detected nor treated in the first 1000 days of a child0s life, can have irreversible consequences impairing an individual for his entire life. New interventions to reduce undernutrition should be designed taking into account their determinants. This study aims to identify factors associated with undernutrition (wasting, stunting and underweight) among children under 5 years in Bengo province, Angola. Materials and Methods - Logistic regression analysis was used to examine undernutrition against a set of variables associated with health, water and parental caregiver factors. Children nutritional status was classified as underweight, stunted and wasted if their Z-scores for weight-for-age (WAZ), heightfor-
age (HAZ) and weight-for-height (WHZ) were less than 2.0 SD of the WHO (2006) standards. Results - The present study comprised 803 children, of whom 50.8% were males and 43% aged 0–23 months. Concerning to parental practices, 36% of the under-twos were currently breastfeeding, and 89% were breastfeed for more than 12 months. 84% started complementary feedin within <6 months of birth. The caregivers reported that 34% of the children had diarrhea in the last 2 weeks and 53.4% of the mothers did not treat drinking water. The prevalence of wasting was 5.6%, of stunting 30.7% and of underweight 29.0%. The most significant factors for wasting were age of the child (OR 4.5, 2.1–9.3 risk for 0–23 age), being breastfed (OR 4.0, 2.0–7.7) and diarrhea episodes (OR 2.0, 1.0–3.7). The most significant factors for stunting were mother0s education (OR 0.5, 0.2–0.9 for mother with secondary or higher education), age of the child (OR 0.5, 0.4–0.8 risk for 0–23 age), being breastfed (OR 0.4, 0.3–0.6). The most significant factors for underweight were age of the child (OR 1.7, 1.1–2.6 risk for 0–23 age class), being breastfed (OR 1.7, 1.1–2.7) and diarrhea episodes (OR 1.9, 1.3–3.1). Conclusions The study suggests the necessity of different
approaches in interventions depending on the age group. Community-based education interventions are needed to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality triggered by undernutrition.
Description
Keywords
Public health Children Malnutrition Angola Província do Bengo
Citation
Brito M, Soares A, Fançony C, Martins A. Determinants of malnutrition among under-fives in Bengo province, Angola. Trop Med Int Health. 2015;20(Suppl 1):280.
Publisher
Wiley