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Accepted manuscript

Child undernutrition and its association with household environmental conditions in Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2024

Md. Mostaured Ali Khan Open the ORCID record for Md. Mostaured Ali Khan [Opens in a new window] ,
Md Arif Billah ,
Kaniz Fatima ,
M Mofizul Islam Open the ORCID record for M Mofizul Islam [Opens in a new window] ,
Bidhan Krishna Sarker ,
Shimlin Jahan Khanam Open the ORCID record for Shimlin Jahan Khanam [Opens in a new window] ,
Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas  and
Md. Nuruzzaman Khan Open the ORCID record for Md. Nuruzzaman Khan [Opens in a new window]
Md. Mostaured Ali Khan
Affiliation:
Maternal and Child Health Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Md Arif Billah
Affiliation:
Health System and Population Studies Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Kaniz Fatima
Affiliation:
Maternal and Child Health Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
M Mofizul Islam
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Vic. Australia 3086
Bidhan Krishna Sarker
Affiliation:
Maternal and Child Health Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Shimlin Jahan Khanam
Affiliation:
Department of Population Science, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Namapara Mymensingh 2220, Bangladesh.
Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas
Affiliation:
Maternal and Newborn Health, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1E 7HT, London, United Kingdom
Md. Nuruzzaman Khan*
Affiliation:
Department of Population Science, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Namapara Mymensingh 2220, Bangladesh. Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
*
*Corresponding author: Md. Nuruzzaman Khan, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Population Science, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Namapara Mymensingh 2220, Bangladesh, Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

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Objectives:

Child undernutrition among under 5 aged children is a prevalent global issue, especially in Bangladesh. This study aimed to explore relationships of household environmental conditions (HECs) with child under-nutrition in Bangladesh, with a specific focus on rural-urban differences.

Design:

We analysed children’s data from the 2017/18 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS). The outcome variable considered were measures of child under-nutrition, including stunting, wasting, and underweight. The major exposure variable considered was indicators of HECs. We used a hierarchical Poisson regression model to explore the association between outcomes and exposures adjusted for potential confounders.

Setting:

Nationally representative cross-sectional survey.

Participants:

8,057 under-5 aged children.

Results:

The prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight in Bangladesh was 31%, 8% and 22%, respectively, with significant urban-rural variations. Under-5 children who lived in houses constructed with unimproved materials (aRR: 1.17), exposed to household air pollution (HAP) (aPR: 1.37), had unimproved drinking water sources (aPR: 1.28), or had poor handwashing facilities (aPR: 1.24) had a greater likelihood of stunting compared to their counterparts. Similar associations were observed for underweight. The likelihood of stunting and underweight increased with increasing scores of poor HECs, varying significantly across urban-rural areas.

Conclusion:

The high prevalence of stunting and underweight in Bangladesh is linked to poor HECs. Therefore, policies and programs aimed at reducing child undernutrition need to account for household environmental conditions, with a particular focus on children in poor household environments.

Keywords

Child undernutritionChild malnutritionHousing conditionHousehold environmentUnder-5 childrenBangladesh
Type
Research Paper
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 31
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Authors 2024