Haile Yilikal Tesfaye, Legisso Tesfahun Zewde
Department of Statistics, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Dec 5;24(1):3391. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20962-3.
Stunting remains a critical issue affecting child health in Ethiopia, with significant implications for growth and development. Despite efforts to address stunting, understanding its determinants and trends over time is essential for developing effective interventions. The objective of this study is to examine the trends and determinants of child stunting in Ethiopia, focusing on sociodemographic factors and regional disparities. This longitudinal observational study utilized data from the Young Lives project covering the period from 2002 to 2016. An ordinal logistic regression model with generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to analyse 7,680 observations from 1,536 children across Ethiopia. Variables included sociodemographic factors, access to resources, and parental education levels. Over the study period, there were notable improvements in child stunting rates, influenced by variables such as household wealth, maternal education, access to safe drinking water, and urban versus rural residence. Children in households with higher wealth and maternal education levels experienced lower rates of stunting. Regional disparities were evident, with a greater prevalence in Amhara and lower rates in Addis Ababa.The findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions to address socioeconomic disparities and improve resource access. Enhancing maternal education, ensuring access to safe water, and addressing regional disparities are critical to reducing child stunting rates in Ethiopia.
发育迟缓仍然是影响埃塞俄比亚儿童健康的一个关键问题，对儿童的生长发育有着重大影响。尽管为解决发育迟缓问题做出了努力，但了解其决定因素和随时间的变化趋势对于制定有效的干预措施至关重要。本研究的目的是考察埃塞俄比亚儿童发育迟缓的趋势和决定因素，重点关注社会人口因素和地区差异。这项纵向观察性研究利用了“青年生活”项目在2002年至2016年期间的数据。采用带有广义估计方程（GEE）的有序逻辑回归模型对埃塞俄比亚1536名儿童的7680条观察数据进行分析。变量包括社会人口因素、资源获取情况和父母教育水平。在研究期间，儿童发育迟缓率有显著改善，这受到家庭财富、母亲教育程度、安全饮用水获取情况以及城乡居住环境等变量的影响。家庭财富和母亲教育水平较高的家庭中的儿童发育迟缓率较低。地区差异明显，阿姆哈拉地区的发育迟缓率较高，而亚的斯亚贝巴的发育迟缓率较低。研究结果强调了针对性干预措施对于解决社会经济差距和改善资源获取的重要性。提高母亲教育水平、确保安全饮用水供应以及解决地区差异对于降低埃塞俄比亚儿童发育迟缓率至关重要。
