Mulaw Getahun Fentaw, Mohammed Osman Ahmed, Mare Kusse Urmale
School of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Science, Woldia University, Woldia, Amhara, Ethiopia.
Griffith University School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
BMJ Public Health. 2024 Jul 4;2(1):e000840. doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2023-000840. eCollection 2024 Jun.
The dietary diversity score (DDS) of children is one of the indicators as part of infant and young child feeding practices. This study aimed to assess the level of DDS and its determinants among Ethiopian children aged 6-23 months.
This study analysed retrospective cross-sectional data on a weighted sample of 1511 children aged 6-23 months after extracting it from the Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019. A a linear mixed model was fitted and expressed as adjusted beta coefficients with a 95% CI. Finally, predictors with a p value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Measures of variation were explained by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and model fitness was determined using the Akaike information criterion.
The mean (±SD) DDS of children was 2.8 (±1.5). Only 56.3%, 13.4% and 11.6% of children met the minimum meal frequency (MMF), minimum dietary diversity score and minimum acceptable diet, respectively. The full model ICC was 0.266, which implied that 26.6% of the total variance of DDS among children was attributed to the differences between clusters. For a 1-month increase in the child's age, the DDS of children will increase by 0.016 units, holding all other variables constant. Also, for every 1-year increase in maternal education, a 0.057-unit increase in the DDS of children is predicted. Children from wealthy families, having mothers who have had media exposure, meeting MMF and taking fewer than 30 min to reach a nearby water supply have been proven to increase the DDS.
In Ethiopia, the DDS of children is very low. To improve DDS enhancing maternal literacy, revenue production activities, media exposure and access to water sources should be prioritised. The significance of feeding children regularly throughout the day should be emphasised.
儿童饮食多样性得分（DDS）是婴幼儿喂养方式指标之一。本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚6至23个月大儿童的DDS水平及其决定因素。
本研究分析了从2019年埃塞俄比亚小型人口与健康调查中提取的1511名6至23个月大儿童加权样本的回顾性横断面数据。拟合线性混合模型，并表示为具有95%置信区间的调整后β系数。最后，p值<0.05的预测因素被认为具有统计学意义。变异度量由组内相关系数（ICC）解释，模型拟合度使用赤池信息准则确定。
儿童的平均（±标准差）DDS为2.8（±1.5）。分别只有56.3%、13.4%和11.6%的儿童达到了最低进餐频率（MMF）、最低饮食多样性得分和最低可接受饮食标准。完整模型的ICC为0.266，这意味着儿童DDS总方差的26.6%归因于集群间差异。在其他变量不变的情况下，儿童年龄每增加1个月，其DDS将增加0.016个单位。此外，母亲教育年限每增加1年，预计儿童的DDS将增加0.057个单位。事实证明，来自富裕家庭、母亲有媒体接触经历、达到MMF标准以及到达附近水源所需时间少于30分钟的儿童，其DDS会增加。
在埃塞俄比亚，儿童的DDS非常低。为提高DDS，应优先提高母亲识字率、开展创收活动、增加媒体接触机会以及改善水源获取情况。应强调全天规律喂养儿童的重要性。
