Degarege Dawit, Degarege Abraham, Animut Abebe
Lia Foundation, 1695, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2015 Apr 12;15:375. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-1714-5.
Causes of child undernutrition are diverse and change in space and time. Investigating current determinants of undernutrition remains vital to design an effective intervention strategy. The study assessed prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among children living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in 459 school age children and their parents or caregivers living in Lideta sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants were selected using a multi-stage simple random sampling technique. Height and weight of children was measured and their parents or care givers were interviewed for factors associated with undernutrition.
About 31% (n = 141) of the children were undernourished (19.6% stunted, 15.9% underweight). Being male, higher birth order (>2), larger family size (6-8), low meal frequency (≤3 times) in a day prior to the survey and mud floor house were significantly associated with undernutrition. Similarly, the risk of underweight increased significantly with an increase in age, birth order, family size and also the absence of hand washing facilities. The odds of undernutrition was lower in children born to 20-30 years old mothers compared to those born to mothers younger than 20 years.
Undernutrition is prevalent among school age children living in Lideta sub city, Addis Ababa. Policy makers should consider school age children in their nutrition policy documents and implement screening program and intervention strategy.
儿童营养不良的原因多种多样，且随时间和空间变化。调查当前营养不良的决定因素对于设计有效的干预策略仍然至关重要。本研究评估了埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴儿童营养不良的患病率及其相关因素。
在埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴利代塔次市居住的459名学龄儿童及其父母或照料者中进行了一项基于社区的横断面研究。采用多阶段简单随机抽样技术选取参与者。测量了儿童的身高和体重，并就与营养不良相关的因素对其父母或照料者进行了访谈。
约31%（n = 141）的儿童营养不良（19.6%发育迟缓，15.9%体重不足）。男性、较高的出生顺序（>2）、较大的家庭规模（6 - 8人）、调查前一天低用餐频率（≤3次）以及泥土地面房屋与营养不良显著相关。同样，体重不足的风险随着年龄、出生顺序、家庭规模的增加以及缺乏洗手设施而显著增加。与20岁以下母亲所生的孩子相比，20 - 30岁母亲所生孩子营养不良的几率较低。
在亚的斯亚贝巴利代塔次市居住的学龄儿童中营养不良很普遍。政策制定者应在其营养政策文件中考虑学龄儿童，并实施筛查计划和干预策略。
