Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Sep;62(8):862-870.
doi: 10.1177/00099228221150705. Epub 2023 Jan 20.

Evaluation of Income and Food Insecurity as Risk Factors for Failure to Thrive: An Analysis of National Survey Data

Bathai Edwards  1   2 , Eric W Schaefer  3 , Laura E Murray-Kolb  4   5 , Carrie Daymont  3   6
Affiliations

Evaluation of Income and Food Insecurity as Risk Factors for Failure to Thrive: An Analysis of National Survey Data

Bathai Edwards et al. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Limited data exist regarding the relationship between socioeconomic risk factors and failure to thrive (FTT). Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from years 1999 to 2014, we sought to determine whether there was a higher prevalence of underweight (<5th percentile weight-for-age [WFA], weight-for-length [WFL], or body mass index-for-age [BFA]), and, therefore, likely a higher risk of FTT, in US children <3 years with low household income or food insecurity compared with children without these factors. Among 7356 evaluated children, there were no significant differences in the prevalence of underweight by adjusted household income quintile, food security, household Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) status, or federal poverty income ratio. These findings do not support a link between low income or food security and underweight in children and, therefore, do not provide support for an association between low income or food security and FTT.

Keywords: failure to thrive; food security; malnutrition; socioeconomic factors; underweight.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study participant flowchart. Abbreviation: NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shaheen E, Alexander D, Truskowsky M, Barbero GJ. Failure to thrive—a retrospective profile. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1968;7(5):255-261. doi:10.1177/000992286800700505. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Emond A, Drewett R, Blair P, Emmett P. Postnatal factors associated with failure to thrive in term infants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Arch Dis Child. 2006;92(2):115-119. doi:10.1136/adc.2005.091496. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Guideline Alliance, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Faltering Growth-Recognition and Management: Full Guideline; 2017. Accessed May 6, 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK458459/.
    1. Jaffe AC. Failure to thrive: current clinical concepts. Pediatr Rev. 2011;32(3):100-107; quiz 108. doi:10.1542/pir.32-3-100. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kessler DB, Dawson P. Failure to Thrive and Pediatric Undernutrition: A Transdisciplinary Approach. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing; 1999.

Publication types