IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v187y2017icp144-154.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Relative importance of 13 correlates of child stunting in South Asia: Insights from nationally representative data from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan

Author

Listed:
  • Kim, Rockli
  • Mejía-Guevara, Iván
  • Corsi, Daniel J.
  • Aguayo, Víctor M.
  • Subramanian, S.V.

Abstract

Optimal growth and development in early childhood is determined by a complex interplay of child, maternal, household, environmental, and socioeconomic factors that influence nutritional intake, but interventions to reduce child undernutrition sometimes target specific risk factors in isolation. In this analysis, we assess the relative importance of 13 correlates of child stunting selected based on a collective review of existing multi-factorial frameworks: complementary feeding, breastfeeding, feeding frequency, dietary diversity, maternal height, body mass index (BMI), education, age at marriage, child vaccination, access to improved drinking source and sanitation facilities, household indoor air quality, and household wealth. The analytic sample consisted of nationally representative cross-sectional surveys from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys for Bangladesh (2014), India (2005), Nepal (2011), and Pakistan (2013), and from the National Nutrition Survey for Afghanistan (2013). In the mutually adjusted logistic regression model for 3,159 infants aged 6–8 months, short maternal stature (OR: 2.93; 95% CI: 1.93–4.46) and lack of complementary foods (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.12–1.93) were associated with significantly higher risk of stunting. For 18,586 children aged 6–23 months, the strongest correlates of child stunting were: maternal height (OR: 3.37, 95% CI: 2.82–4.03), household wealth (OR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.72–2.94), maternal BMI (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.27–2.00), minimum dietary diversity (OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.27–1.72), maternal education (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.18–1.56), and age at marriage (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.05–1.30). Full vaccination and minimum dietary frequency were also found to be important for severe stunting for children of this age group. Some differences were found in the relative ordering and statistical significance of the correlates in country-specific analyses. Our findings indicate that comprehensive strategies incorporating a broader progress on socioeconomic conditions as well as investments in nutrition specific programs are needed to improve child undernutrition in South Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Rockli & Mejía-Guevara, Iván & Corsi, Daniel J. & Aguayo, Víctor M. & Subramanian, S.V., 2017. "Relative importance of 13 correlates of child stunting in South Asia: Insights from nationally representative data from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 144-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:187:y:2017:i:c:p:144-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.06.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617303866
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.06.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deon Filmer & Lant Pritchett, 2001. "Estimating Wealth Effects Without Expenditure Data—Or Tears: An Application To Educational Enrollments In States Of India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 115-132, February.
    2. Smith, Lisa C. & Haddad, Lawrence, 2015. "Reducing Child Undernutrition: Past Drivers and Priorities for the Post-MDG Era," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 180-204.
    3. Ruel, Marie T. & Menon, Purnima, 2002. "Creating a child feeding index using the demographic and health surveys," FCND briefs 130, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Zhihui & Kim, Rockli & Subramanian, S.V., 2021. "Economic-related inequalities in child health interventions: An analysis of 65 low- and middle-income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    2. Sunil Rajpal & Rockli Kim & William Joe & S.V. Subramanian, 2020. "Stunting among Preschool Children in India: Temporal Analysis of Age-Specific Wealth Inequalities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-16, June.
    3. A. Balietti & S. Datta & S. Veljanoska, 2022. "Air pollution and child development in India," Post-Print hal-03662124, HAL.
    4. Balietti, Anca & Datta, Souvik & Veljanoska, Stefanija, 2022. "Air pollution and child development in India," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    5. Sudha Narayanan & Udayan Rathore & Mohit Sharma, 2019. "Women's nutritional empowerment and their well-being Identifying key drivers in India and Bangladesh," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2019-004, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    6. Kim, Rockli & Rajpal, Sunil & Joe, William & Corsi, Daniel J. & Sankar, Rajan & Kumar, Alok & Subramanian, S.V., 2019. "Assessing associational strength of 23 correlates of child anthropometric failure: An econometric analysis of the 2015-2016 National Family Health Survey, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Kajori Banerjee & Laxmi Kant Dwivedi, 2020. "Disparity in childhood stunting in India: Relative importance of community-level nutrition and sanitary practices," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-21, September.
    8. Nidhi Wali & Kingsley E. Agho & Andre M. N. Renzaho, 2021. "Wasting and Associated Factors among Children under 5 Years in Five South Asian Countries (2014–2018): Analysis of Demographic Health Surveys," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-17, April.
    9. Shiva S. Halli & Rajeshwari A. Biradar & Jang Bahadur Prasad, 2022. "Low Birth Weight, the Differentiating Risk Factor for Stunting among Preschool Children in India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-12, March.
    10. Zelalem G. Terfa & Sayem Ahmed & Jahangir Khan & Louis W. Niessen & on behalf of the IMPALA Consortium, 2022. "Household Microenvironment and Under-Fives Health Outcomes in Uganda: Focusing on Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Women Empowerment Indices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-17, May.
    11. Purushotham, Anjali & Mittal, Nitya & Ashwini, B.C. & Umesh, K.B. & von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan & Vollmer, Sebastian, 2022. "A quantile regression analysis of dietary diversity and anthropometric outcomes among children and women in the rural–urban interface of Bangalore, India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    12. Suman Chakrabarti & Samuel P. Scott & Harold Alderman & Purnima Menon & Daniel O. Gilligan, 2021. "Intergenerational nutrition benefits of India’s national school feeding program," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brown,Caitlin Susan & Kandpal,Eeshani & Lee,Jean Nahrae & Williams,Anaise Marie, 2022. "Unequal Households or Communities ? Decomposing the Inequality in Nutritional Status in South Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10009, The World Bank.
    2. Joseph Kangmennaang & Rachel Bezner Kerr & Esther Lupafya & Laifolo Dakishoni & Mangani Katundu & Isaac Luginaah, 2017. "Impact of a participatory agroecological development project on household wealth and food security in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 561-576, June.
    3. Nie, Peng & Rammohan, Anu & Gwozdz, Wencke & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2016. "Developments in Undernutrition in Indian Children Under Five: A Decompositional Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 9893, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Seiler, Johannes & Harttgen, Kenneth & Kneib, Thomas & Lang, Stefan, 2021. "Modelling children's anthropometric status using Bayesian distributional regression merging socio-economic and remote sensed data from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    5. Dorothee Bühler & Rebecca Hartje & Ulrike Grote, 2018. "Matching food security and malnutrition indicators: evidence from Southeast Asia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(4), pages 481-495, July.
    6. Bühler, Dorothee & Hartje, Rebecca & Ulrike Grote, 2017. "Can household food security predict individual undernutrition? Evidence from Cambodia and Lao PDR," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-594, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    7. Diane Coffey & Ashwini Deshpande & Jeffrey Hammer & Dean Spears, 2019. "Local Social Inequality, Economic Inequality, and Disparities in Child Height in India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1427-1452, August.
    8. Angus Deaton & Jean Dreze, 2008. "Nutrition in India: Facts and Interpretations," Working Papers 1071, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
    9. Cornelie Nienaber-Rousseau & Olusola F. Sotunde & Patricia O. Ukegbu & P. Hermanus Myburgh & Hattie H. Wright & Lize Havemann-Nel & Sarah J. Moss & Iolanthé M. Kruger & H. Salomé Kruger, 2017. "Socio-Demographic and Lifestyle Factors Predict 5-Year Changes in Adiposity among a Group of Black South African Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, September.
    10. Langyintuo, Augustine S. & Mungoma, Catherine, 2008. "The effect of household wealth on the adoption of improved maize varieties in Zambia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 550-559, December.
    11. Derek Headey & David Stifel & Liangzhi You & Zhe Guo, 2018. "Remoteness, urbanization, and child nutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 765-775, November.
    12. Barik, Debasis & Desai, Sonalde & Vanneman, Reeve, 2018. "Economic Status and Adult Mortality in India: Is the Relationship Sensitive to Choice of Indicators?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 176-187.
    13. Laetitia Duval & François-Charles Wolff, 2016. "Emigration intentions of Roma: evidence from Central and South-East Europe," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 87-107, January.
    14. Paschalis Arvanitidis & Athina Economou & Christos Kollias, 2016. "Terrorism’s effects on social capital in European countries," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 231-250, December.
    15. Janina Isabel Steinert & Lucie Dale Cluver & G. J. Melendez-Torres & Sebastian Vollmer, 2018. "One Size Fits All? The Validity of a Composite Poverty Index Across Urban and Rural Households in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 51-72, February.
    16. Pulkit Sharma & Achut Manandhar & Patrick Thomson & Jacob Katuva & Robert Hope & David A. Clifton, 2019. "Combining Multi-Modal Statistics for Welfare Prediction Using Deep Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-15, November.
    17. Janz, Teresa & Augsburg, Britta & Gassmann, Franziska & Nimeh, Zina, 2023. "Leaving no one behind: Urban poverty traps in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    18. Darius Erlangga & Shehzad Ali & Karen Bloor, 2019. "The impact of public health insurance on healthcare utilisation in Indonesia: evidence from panel data," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(4), pages 603-613, May.
    19. Jere R. Behrman & Dante Contreras & Maria Isidora Palma & Esteban Puentes, 2024. "Socioeconomic Disparities for Early Childhood Anthropometrics and Vocabulary and Socio-emotional Skills: Dynamic Evidence from Chilean Longitudinal Data," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(1), pages 1-28, February.
    20. Corsi, Daniel J. & Mejía-Guevara, Iván & Subramanian, S.V., 2016. "Risk factors for chronic undernutrition among children in India: Estimating relative importance, population attributable risk and fractions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 165-185.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:187:y:2017:i:c:p:144-154. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.