scholarly journals Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) factors associated with growth between birth and 1 year of age in children in Soweto, South Africa: results from the Soweto Baby WASH study

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 798-819
Author(s):  
D. J. Momberg ◽  
L. E. Voth-Gaeddert ◽  
B. C. Ngandu ◽  
L. Richter ◽  
J. May ◽  
...  

Abstract Interventions to reduce undernutrition and improve child growth have incorporated improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as part of disease transmission prevention strategies. Knowledge gaps still exist, namely, when and which WASH factors are determinants for growth faltering, and when WASH interventions are most effective at improving growth. This study drew cross-sectional data from a longitudinal cohort study and used hierarchical regression analyses to assess associations between WASH factors: water index, sanitation, hygiene index, and growth: height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), weight-for-height (WHZ) at 1, 6, and 12 months postpartum among infants a priori born healthy in Soweto, Johannesburg. Household access to sanitation facilities that were not safely managed was associated with a decrease in HAZ scores at 1 month (β = −2.24) and 6 months (β = −0.96); a decrease in WAZ at 1 month (β = −1.21), 6 months (β = −1.57), and 12 months (β = −1.92); and finally, with WHZ scores at 12 months (β = −1.94). Counterintuitively, poorer scores on the hygiene index were associated with an increase at 1 month for both HAZ (β = 0.53) and WAZ (β = 0.44). Provision of safely managed sanitation at household and community levels may be required before improvements in growth-related outcomes are obtained.

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (4_suppl2) ◽  
pp. 16-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Agnes Trinh Mackintosh ◽  
David R. Marsh ◽  
Dirk G. Schroeder

Save the Children's (SC) successful integrated nutrition program in Viet Nam, the poverty alleviation and nutrition program (PANP), uses the positive deviance (PD) approach to identify key growth promoting behaviors and provides participatory adult education allowing mothers to develop skills related to these behaviors. We investigated whether improvements seen during a PANP intervention (1993–1995) were sustained three and four years after SC's departure. Cross-sectional surveys were administered to 46 randomly selected households in four communes that had previously participated in the PANP and 25 households in a neighboring comparison community in 1998 and 1999. Two children per household, an older child who had participated in the PANP and a younger sibling who had not, were measured (total n = 142 children), and their mothers were interviewed. Older SC children tended to be better nourished than their counterparts. Their younger siblings were significantly better nourished than those in the comparison group, with adjusted mean weight-for-age Z scores of −1.82 versus −2.45 ( p = .007), weight-for-height Z scores of −0.71 versus −1.45 ( p < .001), and height-for-age Z scores of −2.11 and −2.37 (ns, p = .4), respectively. SC mothers reporting feeding the younger siblings more than their counterparts did (2.9 versus 2.2 main meals per day, p < .001, and 96.2% versus 52% offering snacks, p < .01]. SC mothers reported washing their hands “often” more than comparison mothers (100% vs. 76%, p < .001). Growth-promoting behaviors identified through PD studies and practiced through neighborhood-based rehabilitation sessions persisted years after program completion. These sustained behaviors contributed to better growth of younger siblings never exposed to the program.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Huang ◽  
Christopher Sudfeld ◽  
Abbas Ismail ◽  
Said Vuai ◽  
Julius Ntwenya ◽  
...  

Objective: To identify predictors of maternal dietary diversity in rural Dodoma, Tanzania and assess its association with child growth outcomes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 361 mothers with children under 24 months of age was conducted in 5 villages in rural Dodoma, Tanzania. Maternal diets were assessed using food frequency questionnaires, and dietary diversity was categorized using Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) guidelines. Child anthropometric measures were taken to calculate height-for-age z-score (HAZ), weight-for-height z-score (WHZ), and weight-for-age z-score (WAZ). Linear and logistic regressions were used to examine the association between maternal dietary diversity and children’s growth outcomes. Results: About 40% of mothers did not consume a diverse diet (MDD-W < 5), and 35% of children were stunted. Household production of greater number of crops was associated with greater MDD-W scores ( P < .01). Greater maternal dietary diversity was associated with significantly greater child WHZ (mean difference = 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.10-0.78; P = .01), WAZ (mean difference = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.08-0.65; P = .01), and reduced risk of wasting (odds ratio = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.07-0.66; P = .01). Conclusions: Greater maternal dietary diversity was associated with improved child WHZ and WAZ outcomes. Sustainable interventions to increase maternal dietary diversity may improve WHZ and WAZ in young children in similar settings.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Wajiha Anzar ◽  
Ambrina Qureshi ◽  
Ashar Afaq ◽  
Hiba F. Kattan ◽  
Basil Almutairi ◽  
...  

Aim: This study aimed to investigate an association between dental caries status and anthropometric measures in primary school children. Methods and Materials: An analytical cross-sectional study (n = 376) was conducted among primary school children (age range = 6–9 years) registered in private schools. Non-clinical data was gathered from parents of participating children through a self-administered structured questionnaire as well as from the children through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Clinical data included the examination of dental caries using dmft/DMFT index and anthropometric measures including calculated z-scores of height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), BMI-for-age (BAZ), and physical examination. Inferential statistics included Kruskal Wallis and linear regression for univariate and multivariate analysis respectively. Results: The proportion of dental caries in primary and secondary dentition was 67.6% and 8.2% respectively. A significant association was observed between dental caries status and HAZ, WAZ, and BAZ (p < 0.001). An inverse relation was found between low, medium, and high dental caries categories and anthropometric measures. Conclusions: In the primary dentition, dental caries were significantly and inversely related to weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age. Hence, it can be concluded that among the low-income population dental caries is associated with lower anthropometric outcomes in children and therefore caries management should be considered an approach impacting overall health and quality of life.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Som Kumar Shrestha ◽  
Don Vicendese ◽  
Bircan Erbas

Abstract Background: Evidence of the influence of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) behaviors on childhood nutritional status is inconsistent. Few studies have examined their interactive effects. This study aimed to examine associations and interactions between WASH variables and preschool child undernutrition. Methods: Data from a nationally representative sample of 2352 children assessed during the 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey were analyzed by multi-variable linear regression to understand the association between height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-height (WHZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) z-scores and WASH variables. Interactions between WASH variables, sex and area of residence on childhood nutritional status were also examined. Results: The mean z-score [standard deviation] for children’s WAZ, HAZ and WHZ scores were -1.33 [1.1], -1.52 [1.3] and -0.65 [1.1], respectively. A unit increase in cluster sanitation coverage was associated with an increase of 0.30 (95%CI: 0.12 to 0.48) for WAZ and 0.28 (95%CI: 0.001 to 0.56) for HAZ scores. Household water purification practice was associated with an increase of 0.24 (95%CI: 0.07 to 0.41) in WHZ score. Handwashing practice with water and soap was associated with an increase of 0.15 (95%CI: 0.04 to 0.25) in WAZ and 0.13 (95%CI: 0.01 to 0.24) in WHZ scores. The effect of water purification practice was higher for rural areas compared to urban settings for HAZ scores (p-value for interaction=0.02). Conclusions: Consistent with findings from other countries in the South Asian region, findings of this study highlight the potential importance of good WASH practices, and therefore the potential of WASH interventions, to contribute to improved nutritional status in rural Nepal.


2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 679-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
M I Varela-Silva ◽  
◽  
B Bogin ◽  
J A G Sobral ◽  
F Dickinson ◽  
...  

Abstract The Maya people are descended from the indigenous inhabitants of southern Mexico, Guatemala and adjacent regions of Central America. In Guatemala, 50% of infants and children are stunted (very low height-for-age), and some rural Maya regions have >70% children stunted. A large, longitudinal, intergenerational database was created to (1) provide deep data to prevent and treat somatic growth faltering and impaired neurocognitive development, (2) detect key dependencies and predictive relations between highly complex, time-varying, and interacting biological and cultural variables and (3) identify targeted multifactorial intervention strategies for field testing and validation. Contributions to this database included data from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Longitudinal Study of Child and Adolescent Development, child growth and intergenerational studies among the Maya in Mexico and studies about Maya migrants in the United States.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahama Saaka ◽  
Ferguson N. Saapiire ◽  
Richard N. Dogoli

Abstract The causes of undernutrition are often linked to inappropriate complementary feeding practices and poor households’ access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), but limited evidence exists on the combined effect of poor WASH and inappropriate complementary feeding practices on stunted child growth. We assessed the independent and joint contribution of inappropriate complementary feeding and poor WASH practices to stunted growth among children aged 6–23 months in the Jirapa Municipality of Ghana. A community-based cross-sectional analytical study design was used with a sample of 301 mothers/caregivers having children aged 6–23 months. The results indicate that in a multivariable logistic regression model that adjusted for confounders, children receiving both unimproved water and inappropriate complementary feeding had a higher and significant odd of becoming stunted (adjusted odds ratio = 33. 92; 95 % confidence interval 3⋅04, 37⋅17; P = 0⋅004) compared to households having both improved water sources and appropriate complementary feeding practices. Except for unimproved drinking water sources, poor sanitation and hygiene, which comprised the use of unimproved household toilet facilities, washing hands without soap and improper disposal of child faeces were not associated with the risks of stunting among children aged 6–23 months. The combined effect of unimproved water and inappropriate complementary feeding on stunting was greater than either unimproved water only or inappropriate complementary feeding only.


Author(s):  
Siska Nurul Abidah ◽  
◽  
Hinda Novianti ◽  

ABSTRACT Background: Impaired growth and development of children impact the child’s future. Exclusive breastfeeding is essential for the optimal growth and development of children. This study aimed to determine the effect of exclusive breastfeeding on the growth and development of infants aged 0-24 months. Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Wonokromo district, Surabaya, East Java, from June to July 2020. A total of 40 under-two-years children was selected by purposive sampling. The dependent variable was the growth and development of children. The data for the growth of children were collected by accessing weight-for-age, length/ height-for-age, and head circumference measurement. The data for the development of children were collected using Revised Prescreening Developmental questionnaires (R-PDQ). The independent variable was exclusive breastfeeding. The data were analyzed by chi-square. Results: Children receiving exclusive breastfeeding (96.8%) showed a better status of growth and development than without receiving exclusive breastfeeding (11.1%), and it was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Children receiving exclusive breastfeeding (96.8%) show a better status of growth and development than without receiving exclusive breastfeeding. Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, growth and development, children Correspondence: Siska Nurul Abidah. Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Surabaya. Jl. Raya Jemursari No.57, Jemur Wonosari, Wonocolo, Surabaya, East Java, 60237. Email: [email protected]. Mobile: +6282232261545. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.03.60


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257055
Author(s):  
Md. Kamruzzaman ◽  
Shah Arafat Rahman ◽  
Sharmin Akter ◽  
Humaria Shushmita ◽  
Md. Yunus Ali ◽  
...  

Background Early life nutrition plays a critical role in the development of better health and nutrition in adulthood. However, assessing the nutritional status of Bangladeshi children and adolescents through measurement of body composition using skinfold thickness is barely studied. The current study aims to determine children’s body composition and nutritional status, and contributing factors among children aged 2 to 15 years in the northern part of Bangladesh. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study done in Bangladesh. Anthropometric methods, including multiple skinfold thickness and basic anthropometric and socio-demographic characteristics, were used. Body composition was calculated from multiple skinfold thicknesses using the standard regression equation. Nutritional status was measured using Z score according to WHO 2007 reference standard. A total of 330 children from Naogaon, Bogra and Kurigram districts in Bangladesh were examined from April 2019 to September 2019. Results The Nutritional status of 2–15 years old child is exceedingly poor in the northern part of Bangladesh. Fat mass and fat-free mass were higher among children from Kurigram district than from Bogra and Naogaon district. Body fat percentages and arm fat area were greater among female children than males. The overall prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting was around 25%, 32% and 29%, respectively, and the rate was higher among girls and children aged 2–5 years. The average SD score for weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age was -1.295, -0.937 and -1.009. The median weight-for-age and height-for-age Z scores of boys and girls were below the WHO reference percentile rank. Girls were twice (OR:1.951, CI:1.150–3.331) as likely to suffer from being underweight than boys. Children who don’t practice handwashing are three times (OR:3.531, CI:1.657–7.525) more likely to be underweight. Children become underweight and stunted when their family income is not sufficient to maintain their nutritional requirements. Conclusions The children of the three northern districts had a poor nutritional status, and family income was the potential contributing factor. Therefore, interventions like the promotion of income-generating activities and integrated approaches to ensuring food diversification could be an option to address the nutritional problem of children of the three northern districts of Bangladesh.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Aynal Hoque ◽  
Md Abu Sayeed ◽  
Mohammed Rizwanul Ahsan ◽  
Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun ◽  
Farhana Salim

Background : Malnutrition is a serious public health problem that has been linked to increase risk of morbidity and mortality. Child malnutrition causes 27% of child deaths in developing countries in 2015.Objective : To estimate the nutritional status of under five children of a selected slum in Dhaka city.Methodology : This was a descriptive cross sectional study and conducted among 100 under 5 children purposively selected at Agargaon slum in Dhaka city during January-2015 to July-2015. Anthropometric measurements were taken by using standard methods. Those were weight, height, MUAC. Information regarding age of children was taken from patient’s birth certificates or hospital records. Nutritional status was estimated by calculating Z-score, weight for age, height for age, weight for height and mid upper arm circumference. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.Results : Mean age of the study population was 32.95 months. Male was 52% and female was 48%. Regarding Anthropometric assessment according to weight for height Z-score, 39% were wasted moderately and 13% were severely wasted and height for age Z-score, showed 47% of children were stunted moderately and 14% children were severely stunted. According to weight for age Zscore, 46% of children were moderately underweight and 16% children were severely underweight. According to MUAC classification 43% of children were in border line and 16% were malnutrition.Conclusions : Overall, nutritional status of the under 5 child of slum of Agargaon were not satisfactory.Northern International Medical College Journal Vol.7(2) Jan 2016: 143-145


2020 ◽  
pp. 136749352091602
Author(s):  
Angeline Jeyakumar ◽  
Swapnil Rajendra Godbharle ◽  
Bibek Raj Giri

Providing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) in geographically isolated settings is a global public health priority. Prevalence of WaSH practices among mothers and diarrhoea among their children (birth to 59 months) was studied in nine randomly selected tribal villages of Mokhada in Palghar, Maharashtra, India. A community-based cross-sectional survey among 577 mother–child pairs was performed. Participants were recruited from the anganwadi list of enrolled children through household visits. WaSH index was used for assessing WaSH practices. Well was the major (47%) drinking water source. Almost 70% treated and covered the stored drinking water. Nearly 75% of the mothers used soap for washing hands before food and 35% after defecation. Open drains and open defecation were observed in 99% and 50% of households, respectively. The median score for drinking water index was 3 (interquartile range (IQR) = 2), personal hygiene index (PHI) was 2 (IQR = 2), household hygiene index (HHI) was 2 (IQR = 1) and composite index (CI) was 6 (IQR = 2). Prevalence of diarrhoea among children was found to be 33.4% and was significantly associated with poor HHI ( p = .007), PHI ( p < .001) and CI ( p < .001). Measures to provide basic WaSH resources combined with efforts to create awareness would ensure improved WaSH practices and prevent diarrhoea.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document