Determinants of Malnutrition among Under-Five Children in Bangladesh: Evidence from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2019 Data

Author(s): Md. Momin Islam, Md. Tamzid Islam, Farha Musharrat Noor

Background: Malnutrition is a severe burden on the growth of under-five-aged children, notably in developing countries like Bangladesh. This study aims to investigate the determinants of malnutrition amid 0-5 years, aged children in Bangladesh using the data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 2019.

Material and Methods: This study observes child malnutrition status using Stunting (Height-for-age) from MICS 2019 data. The number of prenatal care mothers has been considered the key risk factor. Consequently, mother's and children's characteristics and socioeconomic conditions are also used to examine the association ships. Descriptive, Bi-variate, and multilevel logistic models were implemented to examine the prevalence of stunting and its association with the different levels of selected factors.

Results: Data showed that 26.5% of under-5 children in Bangladesh are stunted, and the prevalence of stunting is high for mothers with no prenatal care or just 1 and 2 prenatal care. However, the adjustment of prenatal care with other factors results in lower odds of being stunted. Among the other factors, mother's education, child age, place of delivery, sex of child, wealth index, and division were significantly impacted by stunting.

Conclusion: Authority should focus on mothers' personal development by improving their socioeconomic conditions to eradicate the complication of under-five child malnutrition in Bangladesh.

© 2016-2024, Copyrights Fortune Journals. All Rights Reserved