Abstract
Introduction
Child malnutrition is a worldwide problem that is associated with increasing morbidity and mortality in children. Globally, it is estimated that almost 300 million children younger than 5 years are mildly, moderately, or severely underweight. This study aims to explore factors associated with underweight among children aged 6-59 months old in Som Commune, Kirivong District, Takeo Province.
Methods
The study used the data of 111 children and mothers from the fieldwork of a rapid survey class offered by the School of Public Health of the National Institute of Public Health. The data were imported into STATA version 12. Univariate logistic regression was used to assess the association of each explanatory variable and underweight. Then, multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the main predictors after controlling for potential confounders. Adjusted odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were reported.
Results
The study showed that the proportion of children who lived with their mother was 59%, while the other 41% lived with their nonmother. The prevalence of underweight children aged 6-59 months was 28.6%. The practices of timely introduction of complementary feeding (81%), minimum meal frequency (MMF), 65.3%, and minimum dietary diversity (MDD) were 66.2%. Among the 11 explanatory variables, only the age group of the child was significantly associated with childhood underweight. Children whose age was above 24 months were more likely to be underweight, with OR = 4.7 (95% CI: 1.5-14.72) and AOR = 6.82 (95% CI: 1.61-28.77), than children aged 6-23 months.
Conclusions
Approximately 60% of children were looked after by their mother. The prevalence of underweight among children aged 6-59 months remains high, which could indicate that children under 60 months are still facing undernutrition problems. For complementary feeding practices, the study shows positive results on the first food introduction at the age of 6 months, yet the percentages of receiving MMF and MDD continue to be low in this area. Children aged 24 months and older appear to have a higher prevalence of underweight than children under 24 months old. Although significant associations with child underweight were not detected among other potential factors, they cannot be ignored, and further studies are needed to further explore their association with child underweight.