Nutritional Status and Determinants of Malnutrition in Children under Three Years of Age in Nghean, Vietnam

Abstract

2 To assess the nutritional status and to determine potential risk factors of malnutrition in children under 3 years of age in Nghean, Vietnam. The study carried out in November 2007, a total of 383 child/mother pairs were selected by using a 2-stage cluster sampling methodology. A structured questionnaire was administered to mothers in their home settings. Anthropometric measurement was defined as bein g underweight (weight for age), wasting (weight for height) and stunting (height for age) on the basis of reference data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) / World Health Organization (WHO). Logistic regression analysis was used to into account the hierarchical relationships between potential determinants of malnutrition. The mean Z-score for weight-for-age was -1.51 (95% CI -1.64, -1.38), for height- for-age was -1.51 (95% CI -1.65, -1.37) and for weight-for-height was -0.63 (95% CI -0.78, -0.48). Of the children, 103 (27.7.8%) were underweight, 135 (36.3%) were stunted and 38 (10.2%) were wasted. Region of residence, ethnic, mother's occupation, household size, mother's BMI, number of children in family, weight at birth, time of initiation of breast-feedin g and duration of exclusive breast-feeding were found to b e significantly related to malnutrition. The findings of this study indicates that malnutrition is still an important problem among children under three years of age in Nghean, Vietnam. Socio-economic, environmental factors and feeding practices are significant risk factors for malnutrition among under-three.