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. 2014 Jul 24;3(2):71-6.
doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2014.63. eCollection 2014 Jul.

Prevalence and determinants of under-nutrition among children under six: a cross-sectional survey in Fars province, Iran

Elham Kavosi  1 , Zahra Hassanzadeh Rostami  1 , Zahra Kavosi  1 , Aliasghar Nasihatkon  2 , Mohsen Moghadami  3 , Mohammadreza Heidari  1
Affiliations

Prevalence and determinants of under-nutrition among children under six: a cross-sectional survey in Fars province, Iran

Elham Kavosi et al. Int J Health Policy Manag. .

Abstract

Background: Childhood malnutrition as a major public health problem among children in developing countries can affect physical and intellectual growth and is also considered as a main cause of child morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of under-nutrition and identify determinants of malnutrition among children under 6 years of age in Fars province, Iran.

Methods: This survey was conducted by house to house visit through multi-stage sampling in 30 cities of Fars province, during December 2012 to January 2013. A total of 15408 children, aged 0-6 years old, were studied for nutritional assessment in terms of underweight, stunting, and wasting. Also, socio-demographic measures were obtained from structured questionnaire. Backward stepwise logistic regression was used to relate underlying factors to the odds of under-nutrition indices.

Results: The rates of stunting, underweight, and wasting were 9.53, 9.66, and 8.19%, respectively. Male children were more stunted compared to females (OR= 1.41, CI: 1.26-1.58). Also, stunting was significantly associated with lower family income (OR= 3.21, CI: 1.17-8.85) and lower maternal education (OR= 0.80, CI: 0.64-0.98). Living in urban areas, and poor water supply were identified as significant risk factors of all three types of childhood under-nutrition. Moreover, Khamse and Arab ethnic groups were more vulnerable to under-nutrition. There was a suggestion that non-access to health services were associated with wasting (OR= 1.87, CI: 1.39-2.52) and also large family size was related to underweight (OR= 1.35, CI: 1.10-1.65).

Conclusion: The prevalence of under-nutrition in the study population was categorized in low levels. However, planning the public preventive strategies can help to control childhood under-nutrition according to underlying factors of malnutrition in the study population including gender, settlement area, family size, ethnicity, family income, maternal education, health services, and also safe water supply.

Keywords: Children; Malnutrition; Prevalence; Stunting; Underweight; Wasting.

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