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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Prevalence, pattern and risk factors for undernutrition in early infancy using the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference:

Bolajoko O Olusanya1, Sheila L Wirz, James K Renner

  • 1Department of Community Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria. boolusanya@aol.com

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
|October 20, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Undernutrition is common in Nigerian infants during the first three months. Early detection is possible at routine immunisation clinics, with maternal and perinatal factors serving as key predictors.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Pediatrics
  • Nutritional Epidemiology

Background:

  • Limited data exists on infant nutritional status in the first three months, especially in populations with high rates of non-hospital births.
  • Early infancy is a critical period for growth and development, making nutritional status assessment crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence, pattern, and risk factors of undernutrition in infants aged 0-3 months.
  • To identify maternal and infant factors associated with undernutrition in a Nigerian setting.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 5888 infants attending routine immunisation clinics in Lagos, Nigeria.
  • Utilized World Health Organisation's Multicentre Growth Reference (WHO-MGR) for nutritional assessment (weight-for-age, height/length-for-age, BMI-for-age).
  • Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to explore associated maternal and infant factors.

Main Results:

  • High prevalence of undernutrition: 13.8% underweight, 30.8% stunted, 10.0% wasted.
  • 61.6% of infants were adequately nourished, while 3.3% were undernourished across all three measures.
  • Intrauterine growth restriction, maternal age, multiple pregnancies, gender, maternal education, residence, parity, antenatal care, place of delivery, and hyperbilirubinaemia were significant predictors.

Conclusions:

  • Undernutrition is prevalent in early infancy in this population and can be identified during routine immunisation visits.
  • Maternal and perinatal history provides valuable predictive information for undernutrition, particularly in resource-poor settings with many non-hospital births.

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