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Adolescent pregnancy and linear growth of infants: a birth cohort study in rural Ethiopia

Abdulhalik Workicho^1,2, Tefera Belachew³, Alemayehu Argaw^3,4

¹Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Health, Jimma University, P.O.Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia. abdulhalikw@gmail.com.

Nutrition Journal

|April 4, 2019

Insights

Young maternal age negatively impacts infant length-for-age Z-scores at birth. However, this association does not persist over time, suggesting other factors influence infant growth trajectories.

Area of Science:

Pediatrics
Maternal Health
Global Health

Background:

Evidence suggests young maternal age increases the risk of linear growth faltering in children.
Previous studies often relied on cross-sectional data, limiting insights into growth trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the association between young maternal age and infant linear growth using a birth cohort study in Ethiopia.
To analyze infant growth trajectories from birth up to 12 months.

Main Methods:

A birth cohort study in rural Ethiopia included 1423 mother-infant pairs, followed for 12 months.
Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the association between maternal age and infant linear growth, adjusting for confounders.

Main Results:

Infant Length for Age Z-score (LAZ) at birth was negatively associated with maternal age of 15-19 years (β = -0.24, P = 0.032).
Young maternal age showed no significant association with infant linear growth over the 12-month follow-up period (P = 0.105).
Infant growth was positively associated with maternal education, iron-folate intake, and negatively with infant illness.

Conclusions:

Young maternal age is linked to lower infant LAZ scores at birth but does not significantly affect linear growth over the first year.
Socioeconomic and environmental inequalities may mediate the long-term impact of young maternal age on infant growth.
Interventions should focus on supporting optimal catch-up growth in infants.

Read full analysis

Abstract

Background:

Evidences indicate that the risk of linear growth faltering is higher among children born from young mothers. Although such findings have been documented in various studies, they mainly originate from cross-sectional data and demographic and health surveys which are not designed to capture the growth trajectories of the same group of children. This study aimed to assess the association between young maternal age and linear growth of infants using data from a birth cohort study in Ethiopia.

Methods:

A total of 1423 mother-infant pairs, from a birth cohort study in rural Ethiopia were included in this study. They were followed for five time points, with three months interval until the infants were 12 months old. However, the analysis was based on 1378 subjects with at least one additional follow-up measurement to the baseline. A team of data collectors including nurses collected questionnaire based data and anthropometric measurements from the dyads. We fitted linear mixed-effects model with random intercept and random slope to determine associations of young maternal age and linear growth of infants over the follow-up period after adjusting for potential confounders.

Results:

Overall, 27.2% of the mothers were adolescents (15-19 years) and the mean ± SD age of the mothers was 20 ± 2 years. Infant Length for Age Z score (LAZ) at birth was negatively associated with maternal age of 15-19 years (β = - 0.24, P = 0.032). However, young maternal age had no significant association with linear growth of the infants over the follow-up time (P = 0.105). Linear growth of infants was associated positively with improved maternal education and iron-folate intake during pregnancy and negatively with infant illness (P < 0.05).

Conclusion:

Young maternal age had a significant negative association with LAZ score of infants at birth while its association over time was not influential on their linear growth. The fact that wide spread socio economic and environmental inequalities exist among mothers of all ages may have contributed to the non-significant association between young maternal age and linear growth faltering of infants. This leaves an opportunity to develop comprehensive interventions targeting for the infants to attain optimal catch-up growth.

Keywords:

Adolescent pregnancy Infant growth Linear growth Maternal age

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