Nutritional status and dietary diversity of orphan and non – orphan children under five years: a comparative study in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana

Abstract

Background: Undernutrition in children under 5 years is a major risk factor to child deaths and is related to impaired cognitive development and lower school performance. Underprivileged children such as orphans are at particularly high risk of undernutrition. Little is however known about the nutritional status and dietary diversity of orphan children in Ghana. This study therefore compared the nutritional status and dietary diversity of orphan and non-orphan children. Methods: An analytical crosssectional study design was used. Two hundred and forty-six children (123 non-orphan and 123 orphans) were sampled from households (non -orphans) and four orphanages (orphans). Maternal / caregiver and child socio-demographic characteristics and dietary diversity of children was assessed with a semistructured questionnaire. We measured anthropometric characteristics of children. Stunting, wasting and underweight in children was classified using Heightforage Zscores (HAZ), Weightforheight Zscores (WHZ) and Weightforage Zscores (WAZ) respectively. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare the nutritional status and dietary diversity of orphan and non-orphan children. Results: Majority of the children were male (52.4%). The prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight was 17.9, 5.3 and 7.7% respectively for all children. There was no difference in the prevalence of stunting (17.1% vs 18.7%) (p = 0. 74), wasting (4.9% vs 5.7%) (p = 0.78) and underweight (7.3% vs 8.1%) (p = 0.81) among nonorphans and orphans. There was also no difference in mean HAZ (p = 0.52), WHZ (p = 0.27) and WAZ (p = 0.12) of non-orphan and orphan children. However, orphans had higher mean dietary diversity score (p < 0.001) and minimum dietary diversity (p < 0.001) than nonorphans. After controlling for potential confounders, nonorphans were 7.491 times more likely to have a low dietary diversity [AOR = 7.491; 95% CI (1.851-30.320); p = 0.005] compared to orphans. Conclusion: Present study data show no significant difference in the anthropometric status of orphan and nonorphan children. Orphans were more likely to receive a diversified diet than nonorphans.

Undernutrition among Institutionalized School-age Orphans in Harari Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study

“…In terms of prevalence, wasting in this study was similar with Ethiopian national level data, 2 findings from Kenya and Bangladesh. 36 , 37 It is, however, higher than reports of studies from Hawassa, Ethiopia, 24 Cameroon, 27 Bangladesh, 31 and Ghana, 38 and lower than findings of other studies. 33 , 34 , 39 This variation might emanate from differences in study design, sample size, and socioeconomic factors.…”

Magnitude and Associated Factors of Undernutrition Among Children Aged 6–59 Months in Ethiopian Orphanage Centres

“…19 The prevalence of wasting is 4.4% which is more or less consistent with the study in Kenya (3.7%), Ghana orphanages (5.3%), and Hawassa town (7.5%). 17,20,21 However, it was lower compared to the prevalence of wasting in Gondar town (9.9%), Gambella (19%), India (15.71%), Kazakhstan (22.1%), and Nigeria (18%). 15,16,[22][23][24] This probably due to the difference in the study area, in culture, and child feeding habits.…”

“… 15 However, it was higher than those findings from Kenya (15.4%), Ghana (17.9%), India (18.6%), and Gambella (10%). 16 , 17 , 21 , 24 These may be varying due to the difference in the study area, sample size, and socioeconomic difference. Regarding orphan status, there was a significant association between children who were being doubled orphaned and stunting.…”

Nutritional status and dietary diversity of school-age children living with HIV: a cross-sectional study in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

“…In the Infant and Young Child Feeding guidelines published by the United Nations, dietary diversity scores of pre-school children are dichotomized: children who had at least four of the seven food groups were considered to have adequately diversi ed dietary intake [29]. In our study, we dichotomized the score using median as there is no recommended cut-off points for our study population (school-age children) [16][17][18][19][20][21]. The median of the children's dietary diversity scores was calculated to determine the cutoff point between lower and higher dietary diversity.…”

“…Along with micronutrient supplementation, su cient dietary diversity is considered a key to improving overall nutritional and health status of children living with HIV [12][13][14]. A number of recent studies have explored risk factors for undernutrition, using dietary diversity score developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Dietary diversity score, which consists of a simple count of food groups that an individual has consumed over the preceding 24 hours, is considered a proxy for nutrient adequacy of the diet of individuals [21].…”