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Lucía Cuevas-Nasu1, Armando García-Guerra2, Luz Dinorah González-Castell3
1Centro de Investigación en Evaluación y Encuestas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública. Cuernavaca, Morelos, México. lcuevas@insp.mx.
Salud Publica De Mexico
|June 7, 2021
Summary
Chronic malnutrition remains a persistent issue in Mexican children under five, with stunting rates interrupted from 2012-2018. Social vulnerability factors are linked to stunting, necessitating a national prevention strategy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Child malnutrition, specifically stunting (baja talla), remains a significant public health concern in Mexico.
- Understanding current prevalence and historical trends is crucial for effective intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To update the prevalence of malnutrition and its 30-year trends in Mexican children under five.
- To identify geographic, household, maternal, and individual factors associated with stunting.
Main Methods:
- National representative sample of children under five in Mexico.
- Prevalence estimation for 2018-19, compared with 30-year historical data.
- Multiple logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with stunting.
Main Results:
- In 2018-19, 4.8% of children under five had low weight, 14.2% had stunting, and 1.4% had wasting.
- Stunting prevalence decreased between 1988 and 2012 but showed an interruption in this decline from 2012-2018.
- Stunting was positively associated with rural residence, southern region, poorer households, indigenous mothers, and higher parity; it was negatively associated with dietary diversity.
Conclusions:
- Chronic malnutrition, particularly stunting, is a persistent problem in Mexico.
- Social vulnerability factors are strongly linked to stunting.
- The 30-year declining trend in stunting was interrupted, highlighting the need for a national prevention strategy.