The double burden of malnutrition in under-five children at national and individual levels: observed and expected prevalence in ninety-three low- and middle-income countries.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the observed prevalence of the double burden of malnutrition (DBM) would be higher than expected on the basis of chance, through analyses at national, wealth quintile and individual child levels. DESIGN: We selected nationally representative surveys from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) carried out since 2005 with anthropometric measures on children under 5 years of age. Household wealth was assessed through asset indices. The expected prevalence of DBM was estimated by multiplying the prevalence of stunting (low height/length for age) and overweight (high weight for height/length). The WHO recommended cut-offs (20% for stunting and 10% for overweight) that were used to define DBM at national level. DBM at individual level was defined as co-occurrence of stunting and overweight in the same child. SETTING: Nationally representative surveys from ninety-three LMIC. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 825 633 children were studied. RESULTS: DBM at national level was observed in five countries, whereas it would be expected to occur in eleven countries. Six countries did not present evidence of DBM at national level but did so in at least one wealth quintile. At individual level, thirty countries (32·3%) showed higher prevalence of DBM than would be expected, but most differences were small except for Syria, Azerbaijan, Albania and Egypt. CONCLUSIONS: The observed number of countries or socio-economic subgroups within countries with the DBM using recommended thresholds was below what would be expected by chance. However, individual-level analyses showed that one-third of countries presented higher prevalence of DBM than would be expected.

Inequalities in child immunization coverage: potential lessons from the Guinea-Bissau case.

Immunization is one of the main interventions responsible for the decline in under-5 mortality. This study aimed to assess full immunization coverage trends and related inequalities, according to wealth, area of residence, subnational regions, and maternal schooling level in Guinea-Bissau. Data from the 2006, 2014, and 2018 Guinea-Bissau Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) were analyzed. The slope index of inequality (SII) was estimated by logistic regression for wealth quintiles and maternal schooling level as a measure of absolute inequality. A linear regression model with variance-weighted least squares was used to estimate the annual change of immunization indicators at the national level and for the extremes of wealth, maternal schooling level, and urban-rural areas. Full immunization coverage increased by 1.8p.p./year (95%CI: 1.3; 2.3) over the studied period. Poorer children and children born to uneducated mothers were the most disadvantaged groups. Over the years, wealth inequality decreased and urban-rural inequalities were practically extinguished. In contrast, inequality of maternal schooling level remained unchanged, thus, the highest immunization coverage was among children born to the most educated women. This study shows persistent low immunization coverage and related inequalities in Guinea-Bissau, especially according to maternal schooling level. These findings reinforce the need to adopt equity as a main principle in the development of public health policies to appropriately reduce gaps in immunization and truly leave no one behind in Guinea-Bissau and beyond.

Longitudinal Association Between Diet Quality and Asthma Symptoms in Early Adult Life in a Brazilian Birth Cohort.

BACKGROUND: The role of diet in the etiology of asthma is still inconclusive. This paper evaluated the longitudinal association between diet quality and chest wheezing in young adults. METHODS: This is a longitudinal study with follow-up information from 18- and 22-year-olds (18y and 22y) of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort. Chest wheezing occurrence and number of events in the last year were reported at 22y. Diet quality was measured with a revised version of the Healthy Eating Index (IQD-R) for the Brazilian population at 18y and 22y by food frequency questionnaire referring to the last 12 months. The diet quality continuity was classified as good (always 1st IQD-R tertile), intermediate (always 2nd tertile/change tertile) and poor (always 3rd tertile). RESULTS: A total of 2986 young individuals were evaluated; 51.4% were female. Prevalence of wheezing at 22y was 10.1% (95% CI: 9.1-11.2), and of these patients, 10% reported at least one event in the past year. Better IQD-R score, both at 18y and at 22y, the lower the odds of wheezing in the past year. Regarding the diet quality continuity from 18y to 22y, staying on a poor diet increased by more than three-fold the odds of chest wheezing (OR=3.28; 95% CI: 1.84-5.84) and of wheezing events (OR=3.32; 95% CI: 1.89-5.85) compared to staying on a good diet, after adjustment for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: The overall quality of the diet seems to be more important than the individual components in the effect on asthma symptoms. Low-quality diet persistence increased the odds of chest wheezing and the number of events.

Inequalities in child immunization coverage: potential lessons from the Guinea-Bissau case / Desigualdades na cobertura vacinal infantil: potenciais lições do caso da Guiné-Bissau / Desigualdades en la cobertura de vacunación infantil: potenciales lecciones del caso de Guinea-Bissau

Immunization is one of the main interventions responsible for the decline in under-5 mortality. This study aimed to assess full immunization coverage trends and related inequalities, according to wealth, area of residence, subnational regions, and maternal schooling level in Guinea-Bissau. Data from the 2006, 2014, and 2018 Guinea-Bissau Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) were analyzed. The slope index of inequality (SII) was estimated by logistic regression for wealth quintiles and maternal schooling level as a measure of absolute inequality. A linear regression model with variance-weighted least squares was used to estimate the annual change of immunization indicators at the national level and for the extremes of wealth, maternal schooling level, and urban-rural areas. Full immunization coverage increased by 1.8p.p./year (95%CI: 1.3; 2.3) over the studied period. Poorer children and children born to uneducated mothers were the most disadvantaged groups. Over the years, wealth inequality decreased and urban-rural inequalities were practically extinguished. In contrast, inequality of maternal schooling level remained unchanged, thus, the highest immunization coverage was among children born to the most educated women. This study shows persistent low immunization coverage and related inequalities in Guinea-Bissau, especially according to maternal schooling level. These findings reinforce the need to adopt equity as a main principle in the development of public health policies to appropriately reduce gaps in immunization and truly leave no one behind in Guinea-Bissau and beyond.

A imunização é uma das principais intervenções responsáveis pelo declínio da mortalidade de crianças menores de cinco anos. Este estudo teve como objetivo explorar as tendências da cobertura vacinal total e as desigualdades relacionadas a riqueza, área de residência, regiões subnacionais e educação materna na Guiné-Bissau. Foram analisados dados do Inquérito de Indicadores Múltiplos (MICS) da Guiné-Bissau de 2006, 2014 e 2018. O índice absoluto de desigualdade (SII) foi calculado por meio de regressão logística para quintis de riqueza e escolaridade materna como medida de desigualdade absoluta. Um modelo de regressão linear foi ajustado com mínimos quadrados ponderados pela variância para estimar a variação anual dos indicadores de imunização em nível nacional e para os extremos de riqueza, educação materna e áreas urbano-rurais. Houve um aumento de 1,8p.p./ano (IC95%: 1,3; 2,3) na cobertura vacinal total ao longo do período estudado. Crianças mais pobres e nascidas de mães sem educação formal foram os grupos mais desfavorecidos. Ao longo dos anos, a desigualdade de riqueza diminuiu e as discrepâncias urbano-rurais foram praticamente extintas. Em contrapartida, não houve mudança no padrão de desigualdade de acordo com a escolaridade materna, prevalecendo a maior cobertura entre crianças nascidas de mulheres mais escolarizadas. Este estudo mostra a persistente baixa cobertura vacinal e as desigualdades relacionadas na Guiné-Bissau, principalmente considerando a educação materna. Estes resultados reforçam a necessidade de adotar a equidade como princípio fundamental no desenvolvimento de políticas de saúde pública para reduzir adequadamente as lacunas na imunização e não deixar ninguém para trás na Guiné-Bissau e além.

La inmunización es una de las principales intervenciones responsables de la disminución de la mortalidad de niños menores de cinco años. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo explorar las tendencias en la cobertura total de inmunización y las desigualdades relacionadas con la riqueza, el área de domicilio, las regiones subnacionales y la educación materna en Guinea-Bissau. Se analizaron datos de la Encuesta de Indicadores Múltiples (MICS) de Guinea-Bissau de 2006, 2014 y 2018. El índice absoluto de desigualdad (SII) se calculó mediante regresión logística para quintiles de riqueza y educación materna como medida de desigualdad absoluta. Se ajustó un modelo de regresión lineal con mínimos cuadrados ponderados por varianza para estimar la variación anual de los indicadores de inmunización a nivel nacional y para los extremos de riqueza, educación materna y áreas urbano-rurales. Hubo un aumento de 1,8p.p./año (IC95%: 1,3; 2,3) en la cobertura total de inmunización durante el período de estudio. Los niños más pobres y los nacidos de madres sin educación formal componían los grupos más desfavorecidos. A lo largo de los años, hubo una reducción de la desigualdad de riqueza, y las discrepancias urbano-rurales casi desaparecieron. Por otro lado, no hubo cambio en el nivel de desigualdad según la educación materna, y prevaleció una mayor cobertura entre los hijos de mujeres con mayor nivel de educación. Este estudio muestra la persistente baja cobertura de vacunación y las desigualdades asociadas en Guinea-Bissau, principalmente con relación a la educación materna. Los resultados apuntan la necesidad de adoptar la equidad como un principio fundamental en el desarrollo de políticas de salud pública para reducir las brechas de inmunización y no dejar a nadie atrás ni adelante en Guinea-Bissau.