Factors associated with growth faltering in children from rural Saudi Arabia

Recent studies on the growth of children in Saudi Arabia have revealed that children under two years of age suffer from faltering growth when compared with the American reference population. The present study aims to identify parental and child characteristics associated with faltering growth among the children in a rural area of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study of all women with a child less than three years of age in a rural community in NorthWestern part of Saudi Arabia was undertaken. Anthropometric measurements, socio-demographic and fertility variables were collected using a structured questionnaire. The indicators of growth were derived from the data and univariate and logistic models fitted to determine potential risk factors. There were 332 children, sex ratio 1.35 and 94.3% were less than 2 years of age. A low frequency (1.5%) had low weight for height, 11.4% low weight for age and 36.1% low height for age when compared with the American NCHS reference population. Multiple logistic regression suggested birth space > 2 years (OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.25 - 0.77), father's with primary or intermediate education (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.25-0.90), birth weight > 2500 gms. (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.03-0.75), male birth (OR = 2.60, 95%. CI = 1.54-4.59) were variables statistically and independently associated with faltering growth. The pattern of growth of children under 2 years deviated negatively from their NCHS-WHO reference. This is similar to the previous findings from urban communities in Saudi Arabia. This growth faltering could be attributed partly to the inadequacy of the reference to compare growth pattern of children in all geographical areas, of the world. While the effects of different dietary habits may not be ruled out, it may be important to develop a different anthropometrics and nutrients growth chart that could be more appropriate to compare variation of infant growth in all nations of the world.