Socioeconomic and demographic factors determining the underweight prevalence among children under-five in Punjab

Abstract

Background Underweight prevalence continues to be major public health challenge worldwide, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan. This study is focused on socio-economic and demographic aspects of underweight prevalence among children under-five in Punjab. Methods In this study, several socioeconomic and demographic factors are considered using MICS-4 data-set. Only those variables which are usually described in the nutritional studies of children were picked. Covariates include: the age of children, sex of the children, age of mother, total number of children born to women, family wealth index quintile, source of drinking water, type of sanitation, place of residence, parents’ education and occupation. All Categorical variables are effect coded. The child’s age and the mother’s age are assumed to be nonlinear, geographical region is spatial effect, while other variables are parametric in nature. Since, the response is binary, covariate comprises linear terms, nonlinear effects of continues covariates and geographic effects, so we have use Geo-additive models (based on Fully Bayesian approach) with binomial family under logit link. Statistical analysis is performed on Statistical package R using Bayes X and R2 Bayes X Libraries. Results Underweight status of children was found to be positively associated with number of under-five children in household, total number of children ever born to women and age of mother when the child was born. Whereas, it negatively associated with place of residence, parent’s education and family wealth index quintile. On the regional effect, the Southern Punjab has higher prevalence of underweight compared to Central and Northern Punjab. Conclusion Similarity of our results with several other studies demonstrate that the Geo-additive models are an ideal substitute of other statistical models to analyze the underweight prevalence among children. Moreover, our findings suggest the Punjab Government, to introduce target-oriented programs such as poverty reduction and enhancement of education and health facilities for poor population and disadvantaged regions, especially Southern Punjab.

Spatial data analysis of malnutrition among children under-five years in Ethiopia

“…As such, a significant negative association is observed between the two variables, suggesting that women who are exposed to media learn about the diet and health of their children and allocating even the limited income to devote to the health nutrition of their children. This finding is consistent with previous research evidence reported in other countries [ 9 , 70 , 75 , 77 , 78 ]. Further, the CIAF status was negatively associated with the DHS year in Ethiopia.…”

Nutritional Status of Adolescents in Public and Private Secondary Schools in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria

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Rural child health in India: the persistent nature of deprivation, undernutrition and the 2030 Agenda

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