Peer-reviewed article
Child stunting is associated with child, maternal, and environmental factors in Vietnam
Ty Beal, Danh Tuyen Le, Thi Huong Trinh, Dharani Dhar Burra, Tuyen Huynh et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study used national survey data on 85,932 children aged 6–59 months in Vietnam to look at which factors are linked to stunting. Stunting has fallen since around 2000 but remains relatively high. The strongest links were with a mother's short height, a mother having no education, living in the Northeast region, and low birthweight. The authors say targeted approaches for vulnerable groups are needed, along with action outside the health sector to reduce socioeconomic inequality.
Key points
- Among children 6–23 months, older child age was strongly associated with stunting (RR 2.49; 95% CI 2.26–2.73).
- Maternal height under 145 cm compared with 150 cm or more was linked to higher stunting risk in both age groups (RR 2.04 for 6–23 months; RR 1.81 for 24–59 months).
- No maternal education compared with graduate education was linked to higher risk (RR 1.77 for 6–23 months; RR 2.07 for 24–59 months).
- Living in the Northeast compared with the Southeast was associated with higher risk (RR 2.01 for 6–23 months; RR 1.94 for 24–59 months).
- Birthweight under 2,500 g was associated with stunting among children 6–23 months (RR 1.75; 95% CI 1.55–1.98).
Limitations
The study is a cross-sectional survey, so it shows associations and cannot show that any factor causes stunting. Only the abstract is available, so details on data quality and the covariates measured are not known.
Abstract
AbstractChild stunting in Vietnam has reduced substantially since the turn of the century but has remained relatively high for several years. We analysed data on children 6–59 months (n = 85,932) from the Vietnam Nutritional Surveillance System, a nationally representative cross‐sectional survey. Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate relative risk (RR) of stunting, stratified by child age and ecological region. Covariates at the child, maternal, household, and environmental levels were included based on available data and the World Health Organization conceptual framework on child stunting. Among children 6–23 months, the strongest associations with child stunting were child age in years (RR: 2.49; 95% CI [2.26, 2.73]), maternal height < 145 cm compared with ≥150 cm (RR: 2.04; 95% CI [1.85, 2.26]), living in the Northeast compared with the Southeast (RR: 2.01; 95% CI [1.69, 2.39]), no maternal education compared with a graduate education (RR: 1.77; 95% CI, [1.44, 2.16]), and birthweight < 2,500 g (RR: 1.75; 95% CI [1.55, 1.98]). For children 24–59 months, the strongest associations with child stunting were no maternal education compared with a graduate education (RR: 2.07; 95% CI [1.79, 2.40]), living in the Northeast compared with the Southeast (RR: 1.94; 95% CI [1.74, 2.16]), and maternal height < 145 cm compared with ≥150 cm (RR: 1.81; 95% CI [1.69, 1.94]). Targeted approaches that address the strongest stunting determinants among vulnerable populations are needed and discussed. Multifaceted approaches outside the health sector are also needed to reduce inequalities in socioeconomic status.