Impact of the health and living conditions of migrant and non-migrant Senegalese adolescent girls on their nutritional status and growth

Abstract

Objective: To describe the living conditions of Senegalese adolescent girls according to their migration status, and to define the main socio-economic and biological determinants of their nutritional and growth status.

Design: Health and living conditions, sexual maturation, and nutritional and growth status of adolescent girls were determined within the framework of a longitudinal study on growth.

Settings: The capital city of Senegal (Dakar) and a rural community (Niakhar), 120 km south-east of Dakar.

Subjects: Three hundred and thirty-one girls, 14.5-16.6 years of age, were recruited from the same villages. Thirty-six per cent of the sample remained in the villages to attend school and/or to help with household subsistence tasks (non-migrants). The remaining (64%) migrated to cities to work as maids (migrants) and lived in two different socio-economic environments: at the home of a guardian during the night and in the house of the employer during the daytime.

Results: Family rural environment and guardian and employer urban environments were socio-economically different (P < 0.001). Living conditions in urban areas were better than in rural areas and the employer's environment was socio-economically more favourable. Migrants had more advanced sexual maturation and higher body mass index (BMI), fat mass index (FMI) and mid-upper arm circumference than non-migrants. However, migrants were smaller than non-migrants. BMI, FMI and weight-for-age were related to socio-economic levels and duration of migration. Schooling was positively related to height and negatively related to BMI.

Conclusions: Migrants enjoyed better living conditions than non-migrants. This could be partly due to the better socio-economic environment of the employer. It was associated with earlier puberty and better nutritional status, but not with a better growth.