TY - JOUR
T1 - Nutritional status of children aged 0–60 months in two drought-prone areas of Ethiopia
AU - Beyene, Shimelis
AU - Willis, Mary S.
AU - Mamo, Martha
AU - Legesse, Belaineh
AU - Regassa, Teshome
AU - Tadesse, Tsegaye
AU - Wolde-Hawariat, Yitbarek
AU - Roslan, Nur Firyal
N1 - Funding Information:
An International Seed Grant from the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources-Agricultural Research Division, and funding from the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, provided financial support for this project. The authors would like to thank their partners at Haramaya and Wollo Universities in Ethiopia for facilitating and participating in the fieldwork. They thank Woreda and Kebele officials for their time and commitment. They are also grateful for all the households who responded to the interviews and allowed anthropometric measurements. They thank three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions an earlier draft of this manuscript.
Funding Information:
Acknowledgements – An International Seed Grant from the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources-Agricultural Research Division, and funding from the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, provided financial support for this project. The authors would like to thank their partners at Haramaya and Wollo Universities in Ethiopia for facilitating and participating in the fieldwork. They thank Woreda and Kebele officials for their time and commitment. They are also grateful for all the households who responded to the interviews and allowed anthropometric measurements. They thank three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions an earlier draft of this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s). Co-published by NISC Pty (Ltd) and Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2020/11
Y1 - 2020/11
N2 - Objectives: A study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors among children under five in two drought-prone areas in Ethiopia. Study design and setting: Through a cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach, data were analysed using multistage random sampling methods. Study subjects and outcome measures: Data were collected on socioeconomic factors, demographic characteristics and anthropometric measurements from 350 households. Height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-height (WHZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) z-scores of 304 children, aged 0–60 months, were calculated using the WHO Anthro software. Children with z-scores of less than −2 standard deviations (SDs) for HAZ, WHZ and WAZ were classified as stunted, wasted and underweight respectively. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation and regression analyses were used to assess the relationships between independent variables and stunting and underweight. Results: Prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight were 49.4%, 13.7% and 37.1% respectively. Among independent variables tested, agroecology was significantly associated with stunting (p = 0.012) and underweight (p < 0.001), while livestock holding was significantly correlated with stunting (p = 0.008) and underweight (p = 0.012). Access to irrigation was also significantly associated with stunting (p = 0.028) and underweight (p = 0.016). However, the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight was not significantly associated with household size, landholdings or frequency of sickness. Conclusions: The prevalence of undernutrition within the study areas was higher than the national average for Ethiopia. Lowland areas exhibited the highest rates of undernutrition; consequently, interventions that include the enhancement of livestock holdings and access to irrigation should include agroecological factors in an effort to reduce childhood undernutrition.
AB - Objectives: A study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors among children under five in two drought-prone areas in Ethiopia. Study design and setting: Through a cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach, data were analysed using multistage random sampling methods. Study subjects and outcome measures: Data were collected on socioeconomic factors, demographic characteristics and anthropometric measurements from 350 households. Height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-height (WHZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) z-scores of 304 children, aged 0–60 months, were calculated using the WHO Anthro software. Children with z-scores of less than −2 standard deviations (SDs) for HAZ, WHZ and WAZ were classified as stunted, wasted and underweight respectively. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation and regression analyses were used to assess the relationships between independent variables and stunting and underweight. Results: Prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight were 49.4%, 13.7% and 37.1% respectively. Among independent variables tested, agroecology was significantly associated with stunting (p = 0.012) and underweight (p < 0.001), while livestock holding was significantly correlated with stunting (p = 0.008) and underweight (p = 0.012). Access to irrigation was also significantly associated with stunting (p = 0.028) and underweight (p = 0.016). However, the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight was not significantly associated with household size, landholdings or frequency of sickness. Conclusions: The prevalence of undernutrition within the study areas was higher than the national average for Ethiopia. Lowland areas exhibited the highest rates of undernutrition; consequently, interventions that include the enhancement of livestock holdings and access to irrigation should include agroecological factors in an effort to reduce childhood undernutrition.
KW - Ethiopia
KW - children
KW - stunting
KW - under five
KW - undernutrition
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U2 - 10.1080/16070658.2019.1612652
DO - 10.1080/16070658.2019.1612652
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85067002198
SN - 1607-0658
VL - 33
SP - 152
EP - 157
JO - South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition
JF - South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition
IS - 4
ER -