Possible effect of maternal safe food preparation behavior on child malnutrition in Benin, Africa.

BACKGROUND: In many developing countries, faulty complementary feeding practises and frequently contaminated foods are contributing factors to child malnutrition. The aims of this study were to evaluate the nutrition status of, and clarify the maternal safe food preparation behaviors associated with malnutrition in, children aged <5 years in Cotonou, Benin. METHODS: This study targeted 300 mother-child pairs visiting the University Hospital of Mother and Child Cotonou Lagoon. Mothers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Child height/length and weight measurements were determined and Z-scores were calculated using the 2006 World Health Organization Child Growth Standards. Children with Z-score < -2 were considered to have stunting or be underweight. On logistic regression analysis, significant variables on bivariate analysis, the associations of which were clarified in previous studies, were established as independent variables. Approximately 80% of the children who participated in this study were aged < 1 year. Being underweight was analyzed as a dependent variable. RESULTS: Regarding nutrition status, 11.0% of the children had stunting and 14.7% were underweight. On logistic regression analysis, underweight was correlated significantly with birthweight. As a remarkable point, food refrigeration was statistically significant. Food refrigeration can possibly be regarded as a maternal safe food preparation behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal safe food preparation behaviors can prevent child malnutrition, even after considering biological and socioeconomic factors.

Factors associated with nutritional status in children aged 5-24 months in the Republic of Cameroon.

This study was conducted to clarify nutritional status and associated factors in 5-24 month old children in the district of Batouri, Republic of Cameroon. Mothers were interviewed using a semistructured questionnaire, and the child's weight, length, head circumference, and mid-upper arm circumference was collected. The data were compared with child growth standards proposed by the World Health Organization using Z-scores; χ(2) -test, Fisher's exact test, and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to determine variables associated with malnutrition. A total of 100 mother-child pairs participated in this study; valid data from 100 pairs were subjected to analysis. The percentages of children with malnutrition indicators were wasting (6%), stunting (31%), underweight (14%), and low mid-upper arm circumference (16%). Five factors were found to be statistically significant in their association with the children's malnutrition: mother's age, child's age, mother's educational level, mothers who had family planning information, and the source of tap water. A high percentage of stunting was positively associated with a high percentage of chronic malnutrition. We speculate that insufficient nutrition was more likely to begin after weaning.

Malnutrition among vaccinated children aged 0-5 years in Batouri, Republic of Cameroon.

Objectives: Malnutrition continues to contribute to a high infant mortality rate. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and its potential association with the time at which complementary feeding was introduced among children aged 0-5 years in Batouri, Republic of Cameroon. Methods: Mothers (n=212) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Child height or length, and weight measurements were determined and the appropriate Z-scores calculated. Multiple regression analysis was performed with the values of all nutritional status indicators as dependent variables and the time of commencing complementary feeding, and the child's age and sex, as independent variables. Results: The prevalence of stunting (height/length for age<-2 standard deviation [SD]), underweight (weight for age<-2SD), and wasting (weight for height/length<-2SD) was 45.8%, 30.2%, and 11.3%, respectively. Even taking into consideration the biological variables, there was a significant association in the effects of time of starting complementary foods on the nutritional status indicators. Furthermore, adding socio-economic variables did not produce a rise in adjusted R2 values for all age group models concerned. Conclusions: Approximately 30% of the children in the study region were underweight, and approximately half of the children exhibited stunting, indicating chronic malnutrition. Commencing complementary feeding at an appropriate time had a positive effect on nutritional status from approximately 2 years of age.