Objective: To find out the prevalence and associated factors of undernutrition in a semi-rural setting.
Methods: The community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehsil Battagram of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, in January and February 2020 after approval from the ethics review committee of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China, and comprised children aged 6-59 months who had no physical or mental disability. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Anthropometric data was analysed using the World Health Organisation Anthro software. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to find out the association between dependent variables, like wasting, underweight and stunting, and independent variables, like socioeconomic, child, maternal and environmental characteristics. Data was analysed using SPSS 21.
Results: Of the 504 children, 257(51%) were girls and 247(49%) were boys. The largest group was aged 36-47 months 127(25.2%), while the smallest group was aged 6-11 months 56(11.1%). Overall, 94(18.7%) children were wasted, 167(33.1%) were underweight and 248(49.2%) were stunted. Children whose family income was high had low odds for being wasted (odds ratio: 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.25-0.71), underweight (odds ratio: 0.30, 95% confidence interval: 0.08-0.72) and stunted (odds ratio: 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.30-0.80). Similarly, those children who were exclusively breastfed had low odds of being wasted were (odds ratio: 0.45, 95% confidence interval: 0.32-0.53), underweight (odds ratio: 0.56, 95% confidence interval: 0.42-0.78) and stunted (odds ratio: 0.62, 95% confidence interval: 0.51-0.97). Children who were not immunised had higher odds of wasting (odds ratio: 4.16, 95% confidence interval: 2.18-7.93), underweight (odds ratio: 4.45, 95% confidence interval: 2.77-7.14) and stunted (odds ratio: 4.36, 95% confidence interval: 2.32-8.71). Children of mothers who did not have antenatal care visits had higher odds of being wasted (odds ratio: 1.91, 95% confidence interval: 1.13-3.22), underweight (odds ratio: 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.22-2.13) and stunted (odds ratio: 1.48, 95% confidence interval: 1.32-2.62). Children who did not have a latrine facility had higher odds of being wasted (odds ratio: 1.63, 95% confidence interval: 1.29-1.58), underweight (odds ratio: 1.76, 95% confidence interval: 1.36-3.84) and stunted (odds ratio: 1.45, 95% confidence interval: 1.22-2.12).
Conclusion: Undernutrition among children aged 6-59 months was widespread. Nutrition awareness, interventions and multi-sectoral approaches were found to be needed to cope with the problem in the study area.
Keywords: Malnutrition, Undernutrition, Under 5 years children, Wasting, Underweight, Stunting..