Peer-reviewed article
Sex differences in child stunting in sub-Saharan Africa: A meta-analysis of twenty countries from 2010 to 2016
Bernard Dembele ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study pooled Demographic and Health Survey data from twenty sub-Saharan African countries to look at differences in stunting between boys and girls under five. Among 134,814 children, 33.4% were stunted, with a higher rate for boys (35.4%) than girls (31.3%). The biggest gaps were in Rwanda and Burundi. The gap was linked to the child's size at birth, number of siblings, birth assistance and wasting. The authors suggest action on these modifiable factors could narrow the gap and improve children's nutrition.
Key points
- Data came from 134,814 children under five with valid anthropometric measures, pooled from DHS surveys in twenty sub-Saharan countries.
- Overall stunting prevalence was 33.4%.
- Stunting was 35.4% for boys (CI 34.7%-36.1%) and 31.3% for girls (CI 30.6%-32.0%).
- The largest gender gaps were in Rwanda (8.1 points) and Burundi (8.9 points).
- The gap was more related to size at birth, number of siblings, birth assistance and wasting.
Limitations
The abstract describes associations in survey data and does not test any intervention, so it cannot show that acting on these factors will close the gap. Details on the methods, on the other eighteen countries, and on how the factors were analysed are not given in the abstract.
Abstract
Globally, the prevalence of child stunting is almost the same for both sexes. However, in developing countries, boys are more likely to be shorter than the norm for their age and sex. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is a need to understand this widespread phenomenon in order to help reduce the high prevalence and low decreasing level of stunting observed, in comparison to other parts of the world. In this perspective, we used pooled data from the demographic and health surveys conducted in twenty sub-Saharan countries. On the basis of 134,814 children under the age of five years with a valid anthropometric index constituted, the prevalence of child stunting obtained is 33.4%, with 35.4% (CI=[34.7%; 36.1%]) for boys and 31.3% (CI=[30.6%; 32.0%]) for girls; the largest gender gaps are found in the Great Lakes countries (Rwanda (8.1 points) and Burundi (8.9 points)). It appears that the gender gap in stunting in sub-Saharan Africa is more related to the size of the child at birth, the number of siblings, the birth assistance and wasting. Intensified action on these modifiable factors could help to reduce the observed gender differences and ultimately improve the overall nutritional status of children.