Socioeconomic determinants of the double burden of malnutrition among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-sectional study

Joshua Okyere; Eugene Budu; Richard Gyan Aboagye; Abdul-Aziz Seidu; Bright Opoku Ahinkorah; Sanni Yaya

doi:10.1002/hsr2.2071

Socioeconomic determinants of the double burden of malnutrition among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-sectional study

Health Sci Rep. 2024 May 12;7(5):e2071. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.2071. eCollection 2024 May.

Authors

Joshua Okyere¹, Eugene Budu², Richard Gyan Aboagye³, Abdul-Aziz Seidu^{4

5}, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah^{6

7

8}, Sanni Yaya^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population and Health University of Cape Coast Cape Coast Ghana.
² Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Accra Ghana.
³ Department of Family and Community Health, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health University of Health and Allied Sciences Hohoe Ghana.
⁴ Centre for Gender and Advocacy Takoradi Technical University Takoradi Ghana.
⁵ College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences James Cook University Australia.
⁶ School of Clinical Medicine University of New South Wales Sydney Sydney Australia.
⁷ School of Public Health, Faculty of Health University of Technology Sydney Sydney Australia.
⁸ REMS Consultancy Services Limited, Sekondi-Takoradi Western Region Ghana.
⁹ School of International Development and Global Studies University of Ottawa Ottawa Canada.
¹⁰ The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London London UK.
¹¹ Faculty of Medicine University of Parakou Parakou Benin.

Abstract

Background and aim: The positioning of eliminating all forms of malnutrition within the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals and the adoption of the United Nations resolution for a Decade of Action on Nutrition are a testament to strong global commitment to combat the double burden of malnutrition (DBM). Yet, there is a knowledge gap in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regarding the influence of socioeconomic status on DBM. We investigated the associative effect of socioeconomic status on DBM in SSA.

Methods: Data for the study were extracted from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 29 countries in SSA conducted from 2010 to 2020. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to examine the association between socioeconomic status and DBM. The results were presented using adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: Children of obese mothers were less likely to be stunted compared to those born to mothers who were not overweight/obese [aOR = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.66-0.77]. The odds of stunting increased with wealth index, with children born to poorest mothers having the highest odds compared to those born to richest mother [aOR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.64-1.95]. The odds of stunting among children was highest among those born to mothers with no formal education compared to those whose mothers had higher education [aOR = 2.73; 95% CI = 2.34-3.18].

Conclusion: DBM among children in SSA is predicted by maternal level of education, and wealth status. These results underscore the urgency of tailored interventions and policies that address DBM among women of reproductive age, with a particular focus on the socioeconomic disparities in SSA. To effectively combat this pressing public health issue, it is imperative to direct efforts towards empowering women to attain higher levels of education and to implement strategies that consider the specific needs of women across varying socioeconomic statuses.

Keywords: malnutrition; public health; socioeconomic; stunting.