Estimating the influence of maternal height on under-five mortality in Nigeria

This study uses a nationally representative data sample to assess the effect of maternal height as an intergenerational influence on under-five mortality. Data from the 2003 and 2008 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) (n = 41,005) selecting women aged 15 to 49 yrs whose most recent births were within 5 years (n = 23,568), were analyzed. The outcome measure was under-five mortality. Independent variables included maternal height categorized as > or = 63 inch, 61-62.9 inch, 59.1-60.9 inch, < 59.1 inch. Confounding factors were controlled for. A multivariable logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratio estimates along with their respective confidence interval. After adjusting for confounding factors, we found that each 1 inch increase in maternal height, was associated with a decreased odds of mortality OR 0.98 (95% CI 0.97-0.99). The OR of under-five mortality when comparing women > or = 63 inch versus women < 59.1 inch was 1.13 (95% CI 0.98-1.31). The population attributable fraction of child death due to maternal short stature was 0.36.