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

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Herrador, Zaida Sordo, Luis Gadisa, Endalamaw Moreno, Javier Nieto, Javier Benito, Agustîn Aseffa, Abraham Cañavate, Carmen
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	INTRODUCTION Little 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. METHODS In 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. RESULTS The 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. CONCLUSION The 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.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.1371/journal.pone.0105880
PubMed reference number	25265481
Journal	Medline
Volume Number	9
Alternate Webpage(s)	http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105880&type=printable
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://repisalud.isciii.es/bitstream/20.500.12105/7045/1/Cross-SectionalStudyOfMalnutrition_2014.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105880
Journal	PloS one
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article