Rural-urban determinants of vitamin a deficiency among under 5 children in Bangladesh: Evidence from National Survey 2017–18

Abstract

Background Vitamin A supplementation reduces child morbidity, mortality, and blindness of people, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. This study explores significant determinants of vitamin A deficiency among preschool children in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. Methods The data set was extracted from a nationally representative survey based on a cross-sectional study, the BDHS-2017-18. The base survey was conducted using a two-stage stratified sample of households. A sample of 8364 (urban 2911, rural 5453) children under-5 years old was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Results Results have demonstrated that 73.9 and 73.2% of children have had a vitamin A supplementation from urban and rural areas, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that parents’ education plays a vital role in consuming vitamin A supplements in urban and rural areas. Children whose mothers have secondary (OR: 1.17, CI: 0.76–1.81) and higher (OR: 1.21, CI: 0.72–2.04) education were more likely to consume vitamin A supplementation than children whose mothers were illiterate in urban areas. However, in rural areas, children whose mothers have secondary education were about 24% and higher education with 60% more likely to consume vitamin A supplementation than children whose mothers were illiterate. Child’s age, regional variation and wealth index also contributing factors for vitamin A deficiency in Bangladesh. Conclusions These findings indicated that the consumption of vitamin A does not cover the target of sustainable development goals. Thus special national and community level efforts are required to ensure the coverage of the national vitamin A program is increased adequately to the most vulnerable groups of children in Bangladesh.

Determinants of good vitamin A consumption in the 12 East Africa Countries using recent Demographic and health survey

“…Children aged greater than 9 months had a significant effect on the good consumption of vitamin A than children of age in months 6–8. This is similar to a study finding a study in Bangladesh [ 36 ]. This result is probably due to the numerous carrying attitudes of parents regarding what types of foods they usually have to feed their children in different age groups.…”

Likelihood of infectious diseases due to lack of exclusive breastfeeding among infants in Bangladesh

“…The severity of most infectious diseases in males can be explained by the impact of sex hormones on the T-helper 1/T-helper 2 cytokines, therefore, the female counterparts have higher morbidity and mortality because of greater immunopathology and/or autoimmunity [ 55 ]. Vaccination with BCG can develop cross-protective immunity by inducing an improved innate immune response for trained immunity against different microorganisms other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis [ 56 ] and consumption of vitamin A and different vaccination reduce childhood illness [ 57 , 58 ], however, the life-saving vaccination coverage has been disrupted by COVID-19 in low-and middle-income countries [ 59 ]. Children from families who have no access to safe drinking water, modern sanitation facilities, and living room materials have a greater likelihood of suffering from the infectious disease since their mother acts as a bearer of different microorganisms that may be imported into their body [ 60 – 62 ].…”

“…The severity of most infectious diseases in males can be explained by the impact of sex hormones on the T-helper 1/T-helper 2 cytokines, therefore, the female counterparts have higher morbidity and mortality because of greater immunopathology and/or autoimmunity [55]. Vaccination with BCG can develop cross-protective immunity by inducing an improved innate immune response for trained immunity against different microorganisms other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis [56] and consumption of vitamin A and different vaccination reduce childhood illness [57,58], however, the life-saving vaccination coverage has been disrupted by…”

Prevalence and determinants of wasting of under-5 children in Bangladesh: Quantile regression approach

“…According to BDHS2017-18 reports, the level of wasting decreased by about half of the previous years [13]. Several studies have found a link between childhood malnutrition and a variety of factors such as an individual's socioeconomic status, demographic features, environmental factors, household factors, parental attributes, childfeeding habits, child morbidity, vitamin intake and vaccination coverage, geographic location, and residency [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”