Peer-reviewed article
Determinantes socioeconómicos de la desnutrición crónica infantil en niños menores de cinco años: revisión sistemática
Klever Roberto Leguizamo Silva, María Catalina Carvajal Endara ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This systematic review looked at studies published between 2021 and 2025 on what social and economic factors are linked to chronic malnutrition (stunting) in children under five. It followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines and searched PubMed/MEDLINE and SciELO, plus the reference lists of selected studies. Of 346 records found, 19 studies were included. The review found that chronic malnutrition is linked to a mix of structural, intermediate and community factors. The authors conclude that prevention needs joined-up work across health, education, social protection, food, water and sanitation, focused on rural, indigenous and economically vulnerable groups.
Key points
- 346 records were identified and 19 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis.
- Chronic child malnutrition was associated with structural, intermediate and community determinants.
- Frequently identified factors were poverty and lower household wealth, low maternal education, indigenous membership, and poor housing.
- Other frequent factors were inadequate infant feeding practices, recurrent infectious diseases, and limited access to safe water, sanitation and primary healthcare.
- The authors describe chronic child malnutrition as multifactorial and linked to social inequalities and environmental conditions.
Limitations
The review included only observational studies and meta-analyses, so it shows associations rather than proven causes. The abstract does not state which countries the 19 studies came from, so the link to Ecuador (from the metadata hint) cannot be confirmed from the text, and it gives no effect sizes or quality assessment.
Abstract
The aim was to analyse the evidence published between 2021 and 2025 on the association between socio-economic and community determinants and chronic child malnutrition in children under five years of age; to this end, a systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, using searches on PubMed/MEDLINE, and SciELO, supplemented by a manual search of the references from the selected studies. Analytical observational studies and meta-analyses published in Spanish, English or Portuguese were included. The search identified 346 records; after removing duplicates and applying the eligibility criteria, 19 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The results showed that chronic child malnutrition is associated with structural, intermediate and community determinants. Among the most frequently identified factors were poverty and lower household wealth, low maternal educational attainment, membership of indigenous populations, poor housing conditions, inadequate infant feeding practices, recurrent infectious diseases and limited access to safe water, sanitation and primary healthcare services. In conclusion, the evidence analysed shows that chronic child malnutrition is a multifactorial problem linked to social inequalities and environmental conditions. Its prevention requires comprehensive, cross-sectoral interventions that bring together health, education, social protection, food, water and sanitation, with a focus on rural, indigenous and socio-economically vulnerable populations.