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Sahiledengle B, Petrucka P, Desta F, Sintayehu Y, Mesfin T, Mwanri L. Childhood undernutrition mediates the relationship between open defecation with anemia among Ethiopian children: a nationally representative cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:1484. [PMID: 38831296 PMCID: PMC11145842 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18931-x] [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: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Poor sanitation and/or open defecation are a significant public health problem in Ethiopia, where access to improved sanitation facilities is still limited. There is a growing body of literature about the effect of open defecation on children's linear growth failure. However, very few studies about the effects of open defecation on child anemia exist. In this study, we examine whether childhood undernutrition (i.e. stunting, wasting, and underweight) mediates the relationship between open defecation and childhood anemia in children aged 6-59 months in Ethiopia. METHODS We used pooled Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey data (2005-2016) comprising 21,918 (weighted data) children aged 6-59 months. Anemia was defined as an altitude-adjusted hemoglobin (Hb) level of less than 11 g/deciliter (g/dl) for children under 5 years. Childhood undernutrition was assessed using height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ), weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ), and weight-for-height Z-scores (WHZ) for stunting, wasting, and underweight respectively. Mediation effects were calculated using the bootstrap and the indirect effect was considered significant when the 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (95% CI) did not contain zero. Moreover, separate multilevel regression analyses were used to explore the statistical association between open defecation and child anemia, after adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS Our analysis revealed that nearly half (49.6%) of children aged 6 to 59 months were anemic, 46.8% were stunted, 9.9% were wasted, and 29.5% were underweight. Additionally, 45.1% of children belonged to households that practiced open defecation (OD). Open defecation was associated with anemia (AOR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.18-1.39) and it positively predicted anemia with direct effect of β = 0.233, p < 0.001. Childhood undernutrition showed a partial mediating role in the relationship between OD and anemia. Analyzing the indirect effects, results revealed that child undernutrition significantly mediated the relationship between open defecation and anemia (stunting (βindirect = 0.014, p < 0.001), wasting (βindirect = 0.009, p = 0.002), and underweight (βindirect = 0.012, p < 0.001)). When the mediating role of child undernutrition was accounted for, open defecation had a positive impact on anemia with a total effect of βtotal = 0.285, p < 0.001. CONCLUSION Open defecation showed a significant direct effect on anemia. Child undernutrition remarkably mediated the relationship between OD and anemia that further magnified the effect. This finding has an important programmatic implication calling for strengthened, accelerated and large-scale implementation of strategies to end open defecation and achieve universal access to sanitation in Ethiopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biniyam Sahiledengle
- Department of Public Health, Madda Walabu University Goba Referral Hospital, Bale-Goba, Ethiopia.
| | - Pammla Petrucka
- College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Fikreab Desta
- Department of Public Health, Madda Walabu University Goba Referral Hospital, Bale-Goba, Ethiopia
| | - Yordanos Sintayehu
- Department of Public Health, Madda Walabu University Goba Referral Hospital, Bale-Goba, Ethiopia
| | - Telila Mesfin
- Department of Medicine, Madda Walabu University Goba Referral Hospital, Bale-Goba, Ethiopia
| | - Lillian Mwanri
- Equity and Human Flourishing, Research Centre for Public Health Research, Torrens University Australia, Adelaide Campus, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia
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Ayres A, Dawed YA, Wedajo S, Alene TD, Gedefie A, Getahun FB, Muche A. Anthropometric failures and its predictors among under five children in Ethiopia: multilevel logistic regression model using 2019 Ethiopian demographic and health survey data. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:1149. [PMID: 38658941 PMCID: PMC11044359 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18625-4] [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: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) combines all three forms of anthropometric failures to assess undernutrition status of children. There is no study on CIAF to identify the real and severe form of under nutrition among Ethiopian children that addressed community level factors. So, this study determined CIAF and identified important factors which helps to design appropriate intervention strategies by using multi-level advanced statistical model. METHODS The study included 5,530 under five children and utilized a secondary data (EMDHS 2019) which was collected through community-based and cross-sectionally from March 21 to June 28, 2019. Composite index of anthropometric failure among under five children was assessed and a two-stage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Descriptive summary statistics was computed. A multi-level binary logistic regression model was employed to identify important predictors of CIAF in under five children. Adjusted odds ratio with its 95% CI was estimated and level of significance 0.05 was used to determine significant predictors of CIAF. RESULTS The prevalence of composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) was 40.69% (95% CI: 39.41, 42.00) in Ethiopia. Both individual and community level predictors were identified for CIAF in under five children. Among individual level predictors being male sex, older age, short birth interval, from mothers who have not formal education, and from poor household wealth quintile were associated with higher odds of CIAF among under five children. Low community women literacy and being from agriculturally based regions were the community level predictors that were associated with higher odds of CIAF in under five children in Ethiopia. CONCLUSIONS The burden of composite index of anthropometric failure in under five children was high in Ethiopia. Age of child, sex of child, preceding birth interval, mother's education, household wealth index, community women literacy and administrative regions of Ethiopia were identified as significant predictors of CIAF. Therefore, emphasis should be given for those factors to decrease the prevalence of CIAF in under five children in Ethiopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aznamariam Ayres
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.
| | - Yeshimebet Ali Dawed
- Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Shambel Wedajo
- School of Public Health, CMHS, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Tilahun Dessie Alene
- Department of Paediatrics, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Alemu Gedefie
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Fekadeselassie Belege Getahun
- Department of Paediatrics Neonatal & Child Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Amare Muche
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
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Wubetie BY, Tsunekawa A, Haregeweyn N, Tsubo M, Nigussie Z, Meshesha TM, Abe T. Analysis of Malnutrition among Children under Five Years across Contrasting Agroecosystems of Northwest Ethiopia: Application of Structural Equation Modeling. Nutrients 2024; 16:1208. [PMID: 38674898 PMCID: PMC11054005 DOI: 10.3390/nu16081208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Child malnutrition remains a public health challenge in developing countries, but a comprehensive understanding of its burden and its determinants in specific local contexts is generally lacking. This study examined the prevalence of malnutrition and its determinants among children aged <5 years across contrasting agroecosystems in northwest Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study involving 400 respondents was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires and anthropometric measurements, complemented with focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The direct and indirect effects of the determinants of malnutrition were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The overall prevalence of child malnutrition, measured using the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure, was 49%, with notable variation across agroecosystems (from 36.1% [midland with red soil] to 59% [lowland and valley fragmented]). Disease experience had significant positive direct effects on malnutrition. Dietary intake had negative and significant total (direct and indirect) effects on malnutrition, partially mediated through disease experience. Serial mediation in SEM analysis revealed significant indirect relationships between malnutrition and food security, feeding and care practices, household environment, health services, maternal diet, maternal empowerment, household wealth, and nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices. In conclusion, child malnutrition was highly prevalent and higher among children in the lowland and valley fragmented agroecosystem, characterized by unfavorable agro-climatic conditions, lower wealth status, poor health services access, and higher disease (particularly malaria) exposure. This study demonstrates the dynamics and multifaceted nature of malnutrition, highlighting the importance of considering geographical differences when planning interventions for childhood malnutrition and its determinants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biruk Yazie Wubetie
- The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-Minami, Tottori 680-8553, Japan
- College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar P.O. Box 5501, Ethiopia
| | - Atsushi Tsunekawa
- Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
| | - Nigussie Haregeweyn
- International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
| | - Mitsuru Tsubo
- Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
| | - Zerihun Nigussie
- College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar P.O. Box 5501, Ethiopia
| | - Taye Minichil Meshesha
- The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-Minami, Tottori 680-8553, Japan
- School of Civil and Water Resources Engineering, Debre Markos Institute of Technology, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos P.O. Box 269, Ethiopia
| | - Takeshi Abe
- International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
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Sahiledengle B, Mwanri L, Petrucka P, Tadesse H, Agho KE. Co-existence of maternal overweight/obesity, child undernutrition, and anaemia among mother-child pairs in Ethiopia. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2024; 4:e0002831. [PMID: 38452001 PMCID: PMC10919671 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Ethiopia is currently known to be the most food-insecure country in sub-Saharan Africa, where childhood undernutrition remains endemic. While attention is increasingly being paid to childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia, a current surge of "triple burden of malnutrition" (TBM) has received less attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of TBM and identify the associated factors in Ethiopia. Data were from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (2005-2016) and a total of 20,994 mother-child pairs were examined in this study. The TBM was our primary outcome variable, which encompasses three types of nutritional problems-when a mother may be overweight/obese, while her child is stunted, wasted, or underweight plus has anaemia under the same roof. A multilevel logistic regression explored the individual- and community-level factors associated with TBM. Our study indicated that children under-five years of age were anaemic, stunted, wasted, and underweight [49.3% (95% CI: 48.7-49.9), 43.1% (95% CI: 42.4-43.7), 10.3% (95% CI: 9.9-10.7), and 27.6% (95% CI: 27.0-28.1)] respectively. The overall prevalence of TBM was 2.6% (95% CI: 2.39-2.83). Multilevel analyses revealed that TBM was more likely to occur among children aged 12-23 months (AOR: 2.54, 95% CI: 1.68-3.83), 24-35 months (AOR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.03-2.29), children perceived by their mothers to be smaller than normal at birth (AOR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.48-2.56), who experienced fever in the past 2 weeks (AOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.24-2.01), and lived in urban settings (AOR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.13-2.86). Lower odds of TBM were reported among female children (AOR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.47-0.72), and those who lived in rich households (AOR: 0.69: 95% CI: 0.49-0.98). TBM was found to be present in almost three percent of households in Ethiopia. Addressing the TBM through double-duty actions will be of critical importance in achieving malnutrition in all its forms in Ethiopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biniyam Sahiledengle
- Department of Public Health, Madda Walabu University Goba Referral Hospital, Bale-Goba, Ethiopia
| | - Lillian Mwanri
- Research Centre for Public Health Research, Equity and Human Flourishing, Torrens University Australia, Adelaide Campus, Adelaide, South Australia
| | - Pammla Petrucka
- College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Hiwot Tadesse
- Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
| | - Kingsley Emwinyore Agho
- School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Translational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown Campus, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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George F, Rajeev LN, Bandyopadhyay S, Baby J, Sinha S, Sachdev HS, Kurpad AV, Thomas T. The role of dairy consumption in the relationship between wealth and early life physical growth in India: evidence from multiple national surveys. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:96. [PMID: 38183073 PMCID: PMC10768164 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17520-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Prevalence of undernutrition continues to be high in India and low household wealth is consistently associated with undernutrition. This association could be modified through improved dietary intake, including dairy consumption in young children. The beneficial effect of dairy on child growth has not been explored at a national level in India. The present analyses aimed to evaluate the direct and indirect (modifying association of household level per adult female equivalent milk and milk product consumption) associations between household wealth index on height for age (HAZ) and weight for age (WAZ) in 6-59 months old Indian children using data from of nationally representative surveys. METHODS Two triangulated datasets of two rounds of National Family Health Survey, (NFHS-3 and 4) and food expenditure (National Sample Survey, NSS61 and 68) surveys, were produced by statistical matching of households using Non-Iterative Bayesian Approach to Statistical Matching technique. A Directed Acyclic Graph was constructed to map the pathways in the relationship of household wealth with HAZ and WAZ based on literature. The direct association of wealth index and its indirect association through per adult female equivalent dairy consumption on HAZ and WAZ were estimated using separate path models for each round of the surveys. RESULTS Wealth index was directly associated with HAZ and WAZ in both the rounds, but the association decreased from NFHS-3 (βHAZ: 0.145; 95% CI: 0.129, 0.16) to NFHS-4 (βHAZ: 0.102; 95%CI: 0.093, 0.11). Adult female equivalent milk intake (increase of 10gm/day) was associated with higher HAZ (β_NFHS-3=0.001;95% CI: 0, 0.002; β_NFHS-4=0.002;95% CI: 0.002, 0.003) but had no association with WAZ. The indirect association of wealth with HAZ through dairy consumption was 2-fold higher in NFHS-4 compared to NFHS-3. CONCLUSIONS The analysis of triangulated survey data shows that household level per- adult female equivalent dairy consumption positively modified the association between wealth index and HAZ, suggesting that regular inclusion of milk and milk products in the diets of children from households across all wealth quintiles could improve linear growth in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franciosalgeo George
- Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health, St. John's Research Institute, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India
| | - L Naga Rajeev
- Department of Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi, India
| | - Sulagna Bandyopadhyay
- Division of Nutrition, St. John's Research Institute, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Jeswin Baby
- Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health, St. John's Research Institute, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India
- Department of Statistical Sciences, Kannur University, Kerala, India
- Research and Development Cell, Caritas Hospital and Institute of Health Sciences, Kottayam, India
| | - Srishti Sinha
- Division of Nutrition, St. John's Research Institute, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Harshpal Singh Sachdev
- Department of Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi, India
| | - Anura V Kurpad
- Department of Physiology, St John's Medical College, Bengaluru, India
| | - Tinku Thomas
- Department of Biostatistics, St John's Medical College, Bengaluru, India.
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Sahiledengle B, Mwanri L, Blumenberg C, Agho KE. Gender-specific disaggregated analysis of childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia: evidence from 2000-2016 nationwide survey. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:2040. [PMID: 37853384 PMCID: PMC10585928 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16907-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Childhood undernutrition has been investigated extensively in previous literature but gender inequality detailing the burden of undernutrition has not been adequately addressed in scientific papers, especially in Ethiopia, where undernutrition is known to be a public health problem of high significance, necessitating increased efforts to address it and reduce this inequality. This study was carried out to: (1) explore gender differences in the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight, and (2) compare the factors associated with childhood undernutrition between boys and girls in Ethiopia. METHODS The study used a dataset of more than 33,564 children aged under 5 years (boys: 17,078 and girls: 16,486) who were included in the nationally representative Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) from 2000 to 2016. The outcome variables were anthropometric indices: stunting (height-for-age < -2 standard deviations), wasting (weight-for-height < -2 standard deviations), and underweight (weight-for-age < -2 standard deviations). Gender-specific multilevel analyses were used to examine and compare the factors associated with child undernutrition. RESULTS The overall prevalence of stunting (49.1% for boys vs 45.3% for girls, p < 0.001), wasting (11.9% for boys vs 9.9% for girls, p < 0.001), and underweight (33.1% for boys vs 29.8% for girls, p < 0.001) higher among boys compared to girls. Boys significantly had higher odds of stunting (aOR: 1.31, 95%CI: 1.21-1.42), wasting (aOR: 1.35, 1.23-1.48), and underweight (aOR: 1.38, 95%CI: 1.26-1.50) than girls. The common factors associated with childhood undernutrition for male and female children were the child's age, perceived size of the child at birth, breastfeeding status, maternal stature, maternal education, toilet facility, wealth index, and place of residence. Boys who were perceived by their mothers to be average sized at birth and were born to uneducated mothers had a higher likelihood of experiencing wasting, in contrast to girls. Among boys, birth order (firstborn), household size (1-4), and place of residence (urban) were associated with lower odds of being underweight. Boys living in cities had lower odds of being stunted. While girls born to mothers with no education and worked in agriculture were at a higher odd of being stunted. CONCLUSION Our study revealed that boys were more likely to be malnourished than girls, regardless of their age category, and there were variations in the factors determining undernutrition among boys and girls. The differences in the burden of undernutrition were significant and alarming, positioning Ethiopia to be questioned whether it will meet the set Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 of zero hunger by 2030. These findings call for more effort to address malnutrition as a significant public health issue in Ethiopia, and to urgently recognise the need for enhanced interventions that address the gender gap in childhood undernutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biniyam Sahiledengle
- Department of Public Health, Madda Walabu University Goba Referral Hospital, Bale-Goba, Ethiopia.
| | - Lillian Mwanri
- Research Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (PHEHF), Torrens University Australia, Adelaide Campus, SA, 5000, Australia
| | - Cauane Blumenberg
- International Center for Equity in Health, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil
- Post-Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil
- Causale Consultoria, Pelotas, Brazil
| | - Kingsley Emwinyore Agho
- School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Medicine, Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown Campus, Penrith, NSW, 2571, Australia
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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