Peer-reviewed article
Prevalence and correlates of malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in the rural areas of Embu County, Kenya: a cross-sectional study.
Annah Muendi, Peter Ntoiti Kailemia, Daniel Nthiwa ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study measured malnutrition in 388 children aged 6-59 months in rural Embu County, Kenya between December 2023 and January 2024. Nearly half of the children (49.7%) were malnourished, with 40.5% undernourished and 15.7% overnourished. The research found that incomplete immunization, food insecurity, and poor child feeding practices were associated with different forms of malnutrition. The coexistence of both undernutrition and overnutrition in the same area suggests multiple underlying causes that need different solutions.
Key points
- Overall malnutrition prevalence was 49.7%, comprising 40.5% undernutrition and 15.7% overnutrition
- Stunting affected 30.4% of children, underweight 14.4%, wasting 13.7%, and overweight/obesity 15.7%
- Partially immunized children had 1.67 times higher odds of malnutrition than fully immunized children
- Children from severely food-insecure households were 2.49 times more likely to be overweight/obese
- 3.6% to 6.7% of children experienced coexisting malnutrition (both under and overnutrition)
Limitations
This cross-sectional study only measured associations at one point in time and cannot establish causality. The findings are specific to rural Embu County and may not represent other regions of Kenya or similar contexts.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: childhood malnutrition remains a major public health challenge in developing countries, with poorly understood sustaining factors. This study assessed the nutritional status and identified factors associated with malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in the rural areas of Embu County, Kenya. METHODS: a cross-sectional study was conducted involving 388 children aged 6-59 months from 330 households between December 2023 and January 2024. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Anthropometric measurements were taken from the children, converted into height for age (HAZ), weight for age (WAZ), and weight for height (WHZ) Z scores, and compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) standard measurements to assess the nutritional status. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate factors associated with the various malnutrition indicators. RESULTS: the overall prevalence of malnutrition was 49.7%, with undernutrition being 40.5% and overnutrition 15.7%. For stunting, it was 30.4%, underweight 14.4%, wasting 13.7%, and overweight/obese 15.7%. In addition, the prevalence of coexisting malnutrition ranged from 3.6% to 6.7%. The overall malnutrition prevalence differed by study sites and was also high among the partially immunized children in comparison with fully immunized children (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.03 - 2.72). Overnutrition was significantly associated with a child´s immunization status, household food insecurity, and the caregiver's time for child food preparation. Child´s age, gender, birthweight, anthelmintic drug administration, and child´s food allocation practices were associated with underweight. Predictors of overweight/obese included immunization status, birth weight, and household food insecurity status. Children from severely food-insecure households were more likely to be overweight/obese (AOR = 2.49; 95% CI: 1.07-5.81) than those from food-secure households. Stunting was associated with child´s food allocation practice. CONCLUSION: the high burden of malnutrition, the coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition suggest the existence of diverse drivers within the same context. Tailored multicomponent interventions targeting different contextual levels may reduce the malnutrition burden in the study area.