Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey

Stunting among children under five years of age is a serious public health problem globally, with life-long consequences to health, well-being, and productivity. Stunted growth has complex and multifactorial causes, reflecting the interaction of a broad range of conditions that determine child healt...

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Main Author: Paulo Renato Correa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10021435/?tool=EBI
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author Paulo Renato Correa
author_facet Paulo Renato Correa
author_sort Paulo Renato Correa
collection DOAJ
description Stunting among children under five years of age is a serious public health problem globally, with life-long consequences to health, well-being, and productivity. Stunted growth has complex and multifactorial causes, reflecting the interaction of a broad range of conditions that determine child health. The Angola 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) collected nationally representative anthropometry for 6,359 children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola, and ascertained exposure to a wide range of child, parental, socio-economic, and geographic variables. This study used a cross-sectional design to identify exposures associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola, while considering the multifactorial and multi-level causes of stunting. Main outcome was prevalence of stunting, defined as proportion of children with height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) two or more standard deviations below the median. Prevalence of stunting was associated with individual, household, and area-level exposure variables, including child age and sex, birth order, birthweight, diarrhea, maternal and paternal age and education, source of water, sanitary system, and province. In conclusion, prevalence of stunting in Angola is associated with several factors previously described in the literature. Stunting is associated with exposures at the distal, intermediate, and proximal levels, in line with the framework on the causes of childhood malnutrition. This study identifies opportunities for interventions at multiple levels to decrease prevalence of stunting among children in Angola. Main limitations of this study are the potential for survival bias and residual confounding.
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spelling doaj.art-f7f2b9c357b04658a2dd694f00c429012023-09-03T13:44:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752022-01-01212Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health SurveyPaulo Renato CorreaStunting among children under five years of age is a serious public health problem globally, with life-long consequences to health, well-being, and productivity. Stunted growth has complex and multifactorial causes, reflecting the interaction of a broad range of conditions that determine child health. The Angola 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) collected nationally representative anthropometry for 6,359 children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola, and ascertained exposure to a wide range of child, parental, socio-economic, and geographic variables. This study used a cross-sectional design to identify exposures associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola, while considering the multifactorial and multi-level causes of stunting. Main outcome was prevalence of stunting, defined as proportion of children with height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) two or more standard deviations below the median. Prevalence of stunting was associated with individual, household, and area-level exposure variables, including child age and sex, birth order, birthweight, diarrhea, maternal and paternal age and education, source of water, sanitary system, and province. In conclusion, prevalence of stunting in Angola is associated with several factors previously described in the literature. Stunting is associated with exposures at the distal, intermediate, and proximal levels, in line with the framework on the causes of childhood malnutrition. This study identifies opportunities for interventions at multiple levels to decrease prevalence of stunting among children in Angola. Main limitations of this study are the potential for survival bias and residual confounding.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10021435/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Paulo Renato Correa
Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey
PLOS Global Public Health
title Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey
title_full Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey
title_fullStr Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey
title_full_unstemmed Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey
title_short Factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in Angola: A cross-sectional study using the 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey
title_sort factors associated with stunting among children 0 to 59 months of age in angola a cross sectional study using the 2015 2016 demographic and health survey
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10021435/?tool=EBI
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