Negash Wubshet Debebe, Fetene Samrawit Mihret, Shewarega Ever Siyoum, Fentie Elsa Awoke, Asmamaw Desale Bihonegn, Teklu Rediet Eristu, Aragaw Fantu Mamo, Belay Daniel Gashaneh, Alemu Tewodros Getaneh, Eshetu Habitu Birhan
Department of Health Systems and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O. Box: 196, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Department of Reproductive Health, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
BMC Nutr. 2022 Sep 19;8(1):104. doi: 10.1186/s40795-022-00603-x.
The consequences of undernutrition have serious implication for the health and future reproductive periods of adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 years. Inspite of this, they are neglected age groups and there is limited information about the nutritional status of this age group in Ethiopia. Therefore, estimating the extent and associated factors of undernutrition among adolescent girls and young women in a national context using multilevel analysis is essential.
Secondary data analysis was conducted from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2016. A total sample weight of 5362 adolescent girls and young women was included in this study. A multilevel mixed-effect binary logistic regression model with cluster-level random effects was fitted to determine the associated factors of undernutrition among adolescent girls and young women in Ethiopia. Finally, the odds ratios along with the 95% confidence interval was generated to determine the individual and community level factors of undernutrition. A p-value less than 0.05 was declared as the level of statistical significance.
Overall, 25.6% (95%CI: 24.5-26.9) of adolescent girls and young women were undernourished. Statistically significant individual level factors includes adolescent girls and young women aged 15-19 years (AOR: 1.53, 95%CI: 1.32-1.77), individual media exposure (AOR: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.69-0.97), and unprotected drinking water source (AOR: 1.24, 95%CI: 1.04-1.48). Whereas, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (AOR: 0.33, 95%CI: 0.13-0.83) and rural residence (AOR: 1.69, 95%CI: 1.24-2.32), were community level factors for adolescent girls and young women undernutrition.
One quarter of the Ethiopian adolescent girls and young women were undernourished. Therefore, the Ethiopian government should better engage this age group in different aspects of the food system. To improve nutritional status, public health interventions such as increased media exposure for rural residents and interventions that improve access to protected water sources will be critical.
营养不良的后果对15至24岁少女及年轻女性的健康和未来生育期有着严重影响。尽管如此，她们仍是被忽视的年龄组，且关于埃塞俄比亚该年龄组营养状况的信息有限。因此，运用多水平分析在全国范围内估计少女及年轻女性中营养不良的程度及其相关因素至关重要。
对2016年埃塞俄比亚人口与健康调查进行二次数据分析。本研究纳入了总样本量为5362名少女及年轻女性的样本加权数据。采用具有聚类水平随机效应的多水平混合效应二元逻辑回归模型来确定埃塞俄比亚少女及年轻女性中营养不良的相关因素。最后，生成比值比及95%置信区间以确定营养不良的个体和社区层面因素。p值小于0.05被视为具有统计学意义。
总体而言，25.6%（95%置信区间：24.5 - 26.9）的少女及年轻女性营养不良。具有统计学意义的个体层面因素包括15至19岁的少女及年轻女性（调整后比值比：1.53，95%置信区间：1.32 - 1.77）、个人媒体接触情况（调整后比值比：0.82，95%置信区间：0.69 - 0.97）以及未受保护的饮用水源（调整后比值比：1.24，95%置信区间：1.04 - 1.48）。而南方各族州（调整后比值比：0.33，95%置信区间：0.13 - 0.83）和农村居住情况（调整后比值比：1.69，95%置信区间：1.24 - 2.32）是少女及年轻女性营养不良的社区层面因素。
四分之一的埃塞俄比亚少女及年轻女性营养不良。因此，埃塞俄比亚政府应在粮食系统的不同方面更好地关注这一年龄组。为改善营养状况，诸如增加农村居民的媒体接触以及改善获取受保护水源的干预措施等公共卫生干预至关重要。
