The Influence of Maternal Social Deprivation on Undernutrition in Children Under 5 Years in Northern and Southern Nigeria

[摘要] Background: Undernutrition is a global public health issue that has far-reaching consequences onthe health and development of individuals as well as economic and social impacts on communitiesand countries. Middle and low-income countries like Nigeria bear the highest burdens and Nigeriahas an unequal distribution of this burden between the North and South. Maternal socioeconomicfactors have been implicated in the burden of undernutrition. This study examines the regionaldifferences in these factors as key determinants of the inequalities in the distribution of the burdenof undernutrition.Subjects and Method: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the child-recode data set fromthe cross-sectional 2018 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey (NDHS). NDHS participants wereselected from all thirty-six states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) via a two-stagestratified cluster design. The child-recode data set includes 33,924 children aged 0 to 59 months.The dependent variables are weight for age, height for age, and weight for height. Independentvariables of interest include the mother’s education, mother’s employment status, wealth quintile,and residence. Additional confounders included the age and sex of the child. Bivariate andmultivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between region,maternal deprivation factors, and undernutrition.Results: The unadjusted odds of being underweight (OR=2.80; 95% CI=2.53 to 3.10; p<0.001),stunted (OR=3.09; 95% CI=2.84 to 3.37; p<0.001), or wasted (OR=1·91; 95% CI=1.62 to 2.28;p<0.001) were statistically significantly higher in children living in the North compared to childrenin the South. Across all 3 indices of undernutrition, the most consistent factors affecting childhoodundernutrition were the mother's education (no formal education) and wealth quintile (pooresthouseholds). The regional differences in the prevalence of undernutrition persisted, after accountingfor maternal deprivation factors that are more prevalent in the Northern parts of Nigeria.Conclusion: Policies and programs to improve childhood undernutrition should be communitycentered and focus on mitigating the inequities in important contributory factors. Further researchto explore the role of childhood infections and environmental factors such as water, sanitation, andhygiene in the regional differences in undernutrition in Nigeria is needed.

[学科分类] 食品科学和技术

[关键词] nutrition;social deprivation;Nigeria;children