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Mezgebe B, Gari T, Belayneh M, Lindtjørn B. Seasonal variations in household food security and consumption affect women's nutritional status in rural South Ethiopia. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2024; 4:e0003294. [PMID: 39163350 PMCID: PMC11335107 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0003294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2024]
Abstract
Food availability varies seasonally in most rural areas of developing nations, especially in areas affected by drought and climate change, with women being one of the most vulnerable groups. This study aimed to assess the effect of seasonal variation in household food security, adequate dietary diversity, food consumption, and wealth on the nutritional status of women of reproductive age in a rural community in South Ethiopia. Further, the study aimed at identifying associated factors with women's nutrition status. An open cohort study was conducted from June 2021 to June 2022, with follow-up visits every three months. Anthropometric measurements were carried out along with interviews. Data were analyzed using STATA version 15. Multilevel, multiple linear regressions were employed. Findings revealed that women's average body mass index (BMI) was 20.4 kg/m2 (95% CI: 20.4-20.5). The highest (20.6 kg/m2, 95% CI: 20.5-20.8) was observed in December, while the lowest (20.2 kg/m2, 95% CI: 20-20.3) occurred in September. During the main postharvest period in December, the household food insecurity score was the lowest (median: 4, Inter quartile range (IQR): 0-9), while the household dietary diversity score (median: 6, IQR: 5-7), and the household food consumption score were the highest (median: 50.5, IQR: 44-70). Factors such as household food security, food consumption, previous season BMI, age, marital status, and membership in safety net programs were identified as determinants of women's BMI. The study showed the vulnerability of women in drought-prone areas to seasonal undernutrition. We recommend collaborative work among stakeholders to ensure sustainable food access and minimize seasonal food shortages' effect on women's nutrition and overall well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethelhem Mezgebe
- School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Taye Gari
- School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Mehretu Belayneh
- School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Bernt Lindtjørn
- School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
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Mudasir S, Muktar E, Oumer A. The practice of key essential nutrition actions among pregnant women in southwest Ethiopia: implications for optimal pregnancy outcomes. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2024; 24:159. [PMID: 38395857 PMCID: PMC10885529 DOI: 10.1186/s12884-024-06354-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nutrition during pregnancy is a major determinant of human health and child development, and the role of promoting essential nutrition actions (ENA) is of a paramount importance for the health of the mother and newborn. However, the practice of ENA could be hampered by many factors, which need to be understood for tailored actions. This study assessed the practice of key ENAs and associated factors among pregnant mothers in southwest Ethiopia. METHOD A community-based cross-sectional study was employed among 373 pregnant mothers. A simple random sampling method was used to select the study participants. The data was entered into EpiData Manager and exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. A bivariable logistic regression was conducted to explore the association between independent variables and the outcome variable. Variables with p-values less than 0.25 during bivariable analysis were entered into a multivariable logistic regression model. Level of statistical significance was declared at a p-value below 0.05. The crude and adjusted odds ratios, along with the 95% CI, were estimated to measure the strength of the association between the dependent variables and independent variables. RESULT In this study, 373 pregnant mothers have participated, with a response rate of 97%. A total of 275 (73.7%; 95% CI: 68.9-78.0) women practiced key essential nutrition actions at optimal level. Monthly household income of 2500 ETB (AOR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.89), rural residence (AOR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.4), and poor knowledge of key ENA messages (AOR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.81, 6.26) were factors that were significantly associated with poor practice of key ENA messages. CONCLUSIONS The practice of key ENA messages was poor and closely linked to household income, residence, and knowledge of pregnant women's on ENA key messages. Therefore, nutritional intervention with a focus on intensified nutritional counseling is needed for better adoption of key ENA practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shamil Mudasir
- College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Welkite, Ethiopia
| | - Ebrahim Muktar
- College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Welkite, Ethiopia
| | - Abdu Oumer
- School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.
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Mertens A, Benjamin-Chung J, Colford JM, Hubbard AE, van der Laan MJ, Coyle J, Sofrygin O, Cai W, Jilek W, Rosete S, Nguyen A, Pokpongkiat NN, Djajadi S, Seth A, Jung E, Chung EO, Malenica I, Hejazi N, Li H, Hafen R, Subramoney V, Häggström J, Norman T, Christian P, Brown KH, Arnold BF. Child wasting and concurrent stunting in low- and middle-income countries. Nature 2023; 621:558-567. [PMID: 37704720 PMCID: PMC10511327 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06480-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Sustainable Development Goal 2.2-to end malnutrition by 2030-includes the elimination of child wasting, defined as a weight-for-length z-score that is more than two standard deviations below the median of the World Health Organization standards for child growth1. Prevailing methods to measure wasting rely on cross-sectional surveys that cannot measure onset, recovery and persistence-key features that inform preventive interventions and estimates of disease burden. Here we analyse 21 longitudinal cohorts and show that wasting is a highly dynamic process of onset and recovery, with incidence peaking between birth and 3 months. Many more children experience an episode of wasting at some point during their first 24 months than prevalent cases at a single point in time suggest. For example, at the age of 24 months, 5.6% of children were wasted, but by the same age (24 months), 29.2% of children had experienced at least one wasting episode and 10.0% had experienced two or more episodes. Children who were wasted before the age of 6 months had a faster recovery and shorter episodes than did children who were wasted at older ages; however, early wasting increased the risk of later growth faltering, including concurrent wasting and stunting (low length-for-age z-score), and thus increased the risk of mortality. In diverse populations with high seasonal rainfall, the population average weight-for-length z-score varied substantially (more than 0.5 z in some cohorts), with the lowest mean z-scores occurring during the rainiest months; this indicates that seasonally targeted interventions could be considered. Our results show the importance of establishing interventions to prevent wasting from birth to the age of 6 months, probably through improved maternal nutrition, to complement current programmes that focus on children aged 6-59 months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Mertens
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | - Jade Benjamin-Chung
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - John M Colford
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Alan E Hubbard
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Mark J van der Laan
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jeremy Coyle
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Oleg Sofrygin
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Wilson Cai
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Wendy Jilek
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Sonali Rosete
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Anna Nguyen
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Nolan N Pokpongkiat
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Stephanie Djajadi
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Anmol Seth
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Esther Jung
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Esther O Chung
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ivana Malenica
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Nima Hejazi
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Haodong Li
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ryan Hafen
- Hafen Consulting, West Richland, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Thea Norman
- Quantitative Sciences, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Parul Christian
- Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kenneth H Brown
- Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Benjamin F Arnold
- Francis I. Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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Clark RB, Chalise M, Visick MK, Ghosh V, Dhungana R. Scale-Up of a Newborn Resuscitation Capacity-Building and Skill Retention Program Associated With Improved Neonatal Outcomes in Gandaki Province, Nepal. GLOBAL HEALTH, SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023; 11:GHSP-D-22-00046. [PMID: 36853629 PMCID: PMC9972378 DOI: 10.9745/ghsp-d-22-00046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intrapartum events leading to asphyxia at birth are a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in Nepal. In response, the Nepal Ministry of Health and Population adopted the Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) training curriculum in 2015 as a tool to improve neonatal resuscitation and outcomes. Although the effectiveness of HBB training has been well documented, challenges remain in maintaining skills over time. Safa Sunaulo Nepal (SSN) designed an evidence-based intervention for scaling up newborn resuscitation training and skill retention. We report on its implementation and the changes in newborn outcomes during the program period. METHODS The program empowered facility-based trainers in newborn resuscitation and skill retention at 12 facilities in Gandaki Province. Seven of 14 level I hospitals and 5 of 6 level II hospitals were selected. A single external mentor coached the facility-based trainers, provided general support, and monitored progress. Program evaluation tracked changes in newborn metrics over 21 Nepali months (March 2018-November 2019). All deliveries occurring in the health facilities during the program period were included in the evaluation. We assessed program effectiveness by analyzing time trends of neonatal mortality, morbidity, and stillbirths. RESULTS We gathered data on neonatal health outcomes of 33,417 deliveries, including 23,820 vaginal deliveries and 9,597 cesarean deliveries. During the program, 43 facility-based trainers taught resuscitation skills to 425 medical personnel and supported skill retention. Neonatal deaths within 24 hours of birth (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=0.993, P=.044) and newborn morbidities (IRR=0.996, P<.001) showed a significantly declining trend. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that the SSN program had a substantial influence on critical neonatal outcomes. Future neonatal resuscitation capacity-building and skill retention efforts may benefit from incorporating elements of the program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert B. Clark
- Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.,Correspondence to Robert B. Clark ()
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Nahalomo A, Iversen PO, Andreassen BA, Kaaya AN, Rukooko AB, Rukundo PM. Seasonality- and disaster effects on food variety and food insecurity coping strategies among a landslide-prone cohort. Clin Nutr ESPEN 2022; 52:229-239. [PMID: 36513458 DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2022.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Landslides may impact on nutritional health among vulnerable populations. However, there is limited data on the seasonal effects of landslides on diet and food security. Among the 2010 and 2018 households affected by the landslides in Eastern Uganda, we assessed seasonality and disaster effects on food varieties consumed and food insecurity coping strategies. This study is among the first to report on seasonal- and disaster effects on food varieties and food insecurity coping strategies among vulnerable populations in Uganda. METHODS We used a three-stage simple random technique to select a total of 422 households during May-August (food-plenty season) in 2019, of whom 211 had been affected by the landslides and 211 had not (controls). Six months later, in January-March (food-poor season) of 2020, 388 households were re-assessed (191 affected and 197 controls). We analyzed data only from the households that participated in both food seasons to compare results between the two food seasons. Food variety scores (FVS) were obtained by summing the frequency of weekly intakes of 86 food items while a coping index was derived based on the severity weighting of household food insecurity coping strategies. RESULTS After adjusting for covariates, significantly lower mean (SE) FVS were among the affected than controls during the food-plenty season: 9.3 (0.5) vs 11.4 (0.3), and during the food-poor season: 7.6 (0.5) vs 10.1 (0.1) (P < 0.001 for both). The affected households were more likely to use food insecurity coping strategies compared to controls (mean [SE]: 35.2 [2.1] vs. 27.1 [1.8], P < 0.001) during the food-plenty season and the severity further increased during the food-poor season: 42.1 (2.1) vs. 28.2 (2.1) (P < 0.001). Disaster exposure was associated with both household food varieties and food insecurity coping strategies during both food seasons (P < 0.001). The adjusted models, showed that, the affected compared to the controls had a significantly higher likelihood to rely on 5 of the 11 coping strategies during food-plenty season and 9 of the 11 coping strategies during the food-poor season. CONCLUSION Low variety diets and coping strategies among disaster affected individuals cut across seasons and implies needs for strong social protection and targeted safety nets irrespective of season.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Per Ole Iversen
- Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Hematology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Division of Human Nutrition, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.
| | | | - Archileo Natigo Kaaya
- School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
| | | | - Peter Milton Rukundo
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda.
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Wells JCK, Marphatia AA, Cortina‐Borja M, Manandhar DS, Reid AM, Saville NM. Associations of maternal age at marriage and pregnancy with infant undernutrition: Evidence from first‐time mothers in rural lowland Nepal. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022. [PMCID: PMC9539981 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Objectives Maternal factors shape the risk of infant undernutrition, however the contributions of age at marriage versus age at pregnancy are rarely disentangled. We explore these issues in a population from lowland rural Nepal, where median ages at marriage and first pregnancy are 15 and 17 years respectively and marriage almost always precedes pregnancy. Methods We analyzed data on first‐time mothers (n = 3002) from a cluster‐randomized trial (2012–2015). Exposures were ages at marriage and pregnancy, categorized into groups. Outcomes were z‐scores for weight (WAZ), length (LAZ), head circumference (HCAZ), and weight‐for‐length (WLZ), and prevalence of wasting and stunting, for neonates (<8 days) and infants (6–12 months). Mixed linear and logistic regression models tested associations of marriage and pregnancy ages with outcomes, adjusting for parental education, household assets, caste, landholding, seasonality, child sex, intervention arm, randomization strata and cluster. Results For neonates, pregnancy <18 years predicted lower LAZ, and <19 years predicted lower WAZ and HCAZ. Results were largely null for marriage age, however early pregnancy and marriage at 10–13 years independently predicted neonatal stunting. For infants, earlier pregnancy was associated with lower LAZ and HCAZ, with a trend to lower WAZ for marriage 10–13 years. Early pregnancy, but not early marriage, predicted infant stunting. Conclusions Early marriage and pregnancy were associated with poorer growth, mainly in terms of LAZ and HCAZ. Associations were stronger for neonatal than infant outcomes, suggesting pregnancy is more susceptible to these stresses. Early marriage and pregnancy may index different social and biological factors predicting child undernutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C. K. Wells
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health London UK
| | | | - Mario Cortina‐Borja
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health London UK
| | | | - Alice M. Reid
- Department of Geography University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
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Ahmed Hanifi SMM, Menon N, Quisumbing A. The impact of climate change on children's nutritional status in coastal Bangladesh. Soc Sci Med 2022; 294:114704. [PMID: 35030394 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
This paper studies the impact of climate change on the nutritional status of very young children between the ages of 0-3 years by using weather data from the last half century merged with rich information on child, mother, and household characteristics in rural coastal Bangladesh. We evaluate the health consequences of rising temperature and relative humidity and varying rainfall jointly employing alternate functional forms. Leveraging models that control for annual trends and location-specific seasonality, and that allow the impacts of temperature to vary non-parametrically while rainfall and humidity have flexible non-linear forms, we find that temperatures that exceed 25 °C (the "comfortable" benchmark) in the month of birth exert negative effects on children's nutritional status as measured by mid upper arm circumference. Humidity has a positive impact which persists when child, mother and household controls are included. We find that exposure to changing climate in utero also matters. Explanations for these results include consequences of weather fluctuations on the extent of pasture, cropland, and rainfed lands planted with rice and other crops, and on mother's age at first marriage. Our results underline that climate change has real consequences for the health of very young populations in vulnerable areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Manzoor Ahmed Hanifi
- Health System and Population Studies Division, International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, GPO Box 128, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
| | - Nidhiya Menon
- Department of Economics, MS 021, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA.
| | - Agnes Quisumbing
- Health, and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, 1201 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005, USA.
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Harris-Fry H, Saville NM, Paudel P, Manandhar DS, Cortina-Borja M, Skordis J. Relative power: Explaining the effects of food and cash transfers on allocative behaviour in rural Nepalese households. JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS 2022; 154:102784. [PMID: 34824488 PMCID: PMC7612026 DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
We estimate the effects of antenatal food and cash transfers with women's groups on household allocative behaviour and explore whether these effects are explained by intergenerational bargaining among women. Interventions were tested in randomised-controlled trial in rural Nepal, in a food-insecure context where pregnant women are allocated the least adequate diets. We show households enrolled in a cash transfer intervention allocated pregnant women with 2-3 pp larger shares of multiple foods (versus their mothers-in-law and male household heads) than households in a control group. Households in a food transfer intervention only increased pregnant women's allocation of staple foods (by 2 pp). Intergenerational bargaining power may partly mediate the effects of the cash transfers but not food transfers, whereas household food budget and nutrition knowledge do not mediate any effects. Our findings highlight the role of intergenerational bargaining in determining the effectiveness of interventions aiming to reach and/or empower junior women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Harris-Fry
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
- Corresponding author. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | - Naomi M. Saville
- UCL Institute for Global Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Puskar Paudel
- Mother and Infant Research Activities, PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Dharma S. Manandhar
- Mother and Infant Research Activities, PO Box 921, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Mario Cortina-Borja
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Jolene Skordis
- UCL Institute for Global Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK
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Miller FA, Marphatia AA, Wells JC, Cortina-Borja M, Manandhar DS, Saville NM. Associations between early marriage and preterm delivery: Evidence from lowland Nepal. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23709. [PMID: 34862821 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Preterm delivery (<37 weeks gestation) is the largest cause of child mortality worldwide. Marriage and pregnancy during adolescence have been associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery. We investigate independent associations of age at marriage and age at first pregnancy with preterm delivery in a cohort of women from rural lowland Nepal. METHODS We analyzed data from 17 974 women in the Low Birth Weight South Asia Trial. Logistic regression models tested associations of age at marriage and age at first pregnancy with preterm delivery, for primigravida (n = 6 243) and multigravida (n = 11 731) women. Models were adjusted for maternal education, maternal caste, and household asset score. RESULTS Ninety percent of participants had married at <18 years and 58% had their first pregnancy at <18 years. 20% of participants delivered preterm. Primigravida participants married at ≤14 years had higher odds of preterm delivery than those married ≥18 years, when adjusting for study design (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.45, 95% CI: 1.15-1.83), confounders (aOR 1.28: 1.01-1.62) and confounders + age at pregnancy (aOR 1.29: 1.00-1.68). Associations were insignificant for multigravida women. No significant associations were observed between age at first pregnancy and preterm delivery. DISCUSSION In this population, early marriage, rather than pregnancy, is a risk factor for preterm delivery. We hypothesize that psychological stress, a driver of preterm delivery which is increased among those marrying young, rather than physiological immaturity, drives this association. Further research into the psychological consequences of child marriage in Nepal is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faith A Miller
- Institute for Global Health (IGH), University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - Akanksha A Marphatia
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH), University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - Jonathan C Wells
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH), University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - Mario Cortina-Borja
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH), University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | | | - Naomi M Saville
- Institute for Global Health (IGH), University College London (UCL), London, UK
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