Multilevel Analysis Association of Soil Transmitted Helminths and Stunting in Children Aged 6-12 Years Old in Pinrang District, South Sulawesi

Abstract

Background: Stunting in children is often associated with infectious diseases, one of which is Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH). Worms in children affect the intake, digestion, absorption and metabolism of food which has an impact on reducing the supply of nutrients to the body. This study aimed to determine the relationship between STH and the incidence of stunting in children aged 6-12 years in Pinrang, South Sulawesi. Subjects and Method: This was an analytic observational with cross sectional design. The study was conducted in Pinrang Regency, South Sulawesi, from January to March 2020. A sample of 200 children aged 6-12 years was selected by random sampling. The dependent variable was stunting. The independent variables were worm disease, maternal education, family income, number of family members, maternal body height, low birth weight, length of birth, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by a multiple multilevel logistic regression run on STATA13. Results: The risk of stunting increased with worms (b= 2.11; 95% CI= 1.11 to 3.10; p <0.001), low maternal education (b= 1.08; 95% CI= 0.13 to 2.03; p= 0.025), low income (b= 1.03; 95% CI= 0.05 to 2.02; p= 0.039), number of family (b= 2.13; 95% CI= 1.13 to 3.13; p< 0.001), short maternal height (b= 1.03; 95% CI= 0.10 to 1.96; p= 0.030), LBW (b= 1.45; 95% CI= 0.38 to 2.51; p= 0.007), short birth length (b= 1.91; 95% CI= 0.95 to 2.87; p< 0.001), and inappropriate complementary feeding (b= 1.11; 95% CI= 0.21 to 2.11; p= 0.029). The risk of stunting decreased with exclusive breastfeeding (b= 0.96; 95% CI= 0.23 to 1.91; p= 0.045). Village had negligible contextual effect on the stunting with ICC= 8.2%. Conclusion:The risk of stunting increases with worms, low maternal education, low income, number of family, short maternal height, LBW, short birth length, and inappropriate complementary feeding. The risk of stunting decreases with exclusive breastfeeding. Village has negligible contextual effect on the stunting.

The Relationship between Worm Infection and Stunting in Children in Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province

“…These results are in line with previous research byDjuardi et al ( 2021) which showed that stunting had minimal effect on intestinal worms. However, another study conducted byMuslimah, Salimo and Dewi (2020)showed that the risk of stunting increased with the presence of worms. The difference in the results may be due to the small number of samples, and perhaps because almost the children were already taking anti-worm medicine.…”

“…This shows that high levels of IL-4, increased levels of eosinophils, and low hemoglobin are not associated with stunting. (Muslimah, Salimo and Dewi, 2020). The prevalence of intestinal worms in East Nusa Tenggara in preschool children is 58.8% (Djuardi et al, 2021).…”

Pemeriksaan Kecacingan (Soil Transmitted Helminths) Dengan Pengaruh PHBS Pada Anak Di Desa Karadenan Kabupaten Bogor

“…The estimated incidence of Ascaris lumbricoides ranges between 807 million -1.2 billion, Trichuris trichiura between 604 -795 million, Hookworm ranges between 576 -740 million. Indonesia has around 73 million people, and Bogor Keradenan has 630 -670 thousand people (Muslimah et al, 2020).…”

“…Several domestic animals, namely cows, buffalo and goats, have shown that they can help the spread of Ascaris, Ancylostoma and Trichiuris eggs mechanically. Other factors that can influence the transmission of STH eggs include employment in agriculture, ownership of livestock, and consumption of raw fresh vegetables using human feces as fertilizer (Mala Mustria, 2022;Muslimah et al, 2020).…”