Prevalence of and Risk factors for Stunting among School Children and Adolescents in Abeokuta, Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Stunting adversely affects the physical and mental outcome of children. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with stunting among urban school children and adolescents in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Five hundred and seventy children aged 5-19 years were selected using the multi-stage random-sampling technique. Stunting was defined as height-for-age z-score (HAZ) of <-2 standard deviation (SD) of the National Center for Health Statistics reference. Severe stunting was defined as HAZ of <-3 SD. The mean age of the children was 12.2+3.41 years, and 296 (51.5%) were males. Ninety-nine (17.4%) children were stunted. Of the stunted children, 20 (22.2%) were severely stunted. Identified risk factors associated with stunting were attendance of public schools (p<0.001), polygamous family setting (p=0.001), low maternal education (p=0.001), and low social class (p=0.034). Following multivariate analysis with logistic regression, low maternal education (odds ratio=2.4; 95% confidence interval 1.20-4.9; p=0.015) was the major contributory factor to stunting. Encouraging female education may improve healthcare-seeking behaviour and the use of health services and ultimately reduce stunting and its consequences.

Dietary Patterns in Pregnancy and Effects on Nutrient Intake in the Mid-South: The Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) Study

“…That younger children had a better nutritional status than their older counterparts was not unexpected; similar findings have been reported in earlier studies among infant (Powell and Grantham-McGregor, 1985) and school-age populations (Senbanjo et al, 2011). We also found that the prevalence of stunting was higher in rural than periurban areas.…”

“…Similar patterns have been reported in earlier studies which have recorded a dramatic rise in the prevalence of stunting with age among African children (Stoltzfus et al, 1997;Hautvast et al, 2000;Senbanjo et al, 2011). Stoltzfus et al (1997) as well as Glewwe and Jacoby (1995) have postulated that, parents probably enrol the more healthy children in school at earlier ages.…”

“…Moreover, patterns observed among school-age populations are similar to those reported at younger ages (Wamani et al, 2007). With regard to age, several studies have reported a dramatic increase in stunting among older children (Stoltzfus et al, 1997;Lwambo et al, 2000;Goon et al, 2011;Senbanjo et al, 2011) demonstrating that linear growth continues to falter throughout the school-age years (The Partnership for Child Development, 1998). Mendez and Adair (1999) found that children who started school at earlier ages (5 or 6 years) were substantially taller than children who started school later (7 or 8 years) so it may be that better-off children enrol in school at earlier ages.…”

“…Nutrition mediates outcome at school-age Lwambo et al, 2000;Goon et al, 2011;Senbanjo et al, 2011) demonstrating that linear growth continues to falter throughout the school-age years (The Partnership for Child Development, 1998). Mendez and Adair (1999) found that children who started school at earlier ages (5 or 6 years) were substantially taller than children who started school later (7 or 8 years) so it may be that better-off children enrol in school at earlier ages.…”

“…Various individual and environmental variables have been associated with an elevated risk of experiencing poor nutritional status. Important differences have been highlighted in the prevalence of stunting among boys and girls (Badenhorst et al, 1993;Lwambo et al, 2000;Semproli and Gualdi-Russo, 2007;Acham et al, 2008;Omigbodun et al, 2010;Goon et al, 2011;Senbanjo et al, 2011) although there are substantial variations in regional trends. Moreover, patterns observed among school-age populations are similar to those reported at younger ages (Wamani et al, 2007).…”