ABSTRACT
Objectives: Household air pollution from the use of biomass fuels has been associated with low birth weight in many developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the effect of indoor air pollution from biomass fuels and kitchen location on maternal reports of child size at birth in Ethiopia. Study design: A cross-sectional study design based on the secondary data analysis was used. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey. Birth weight from child health cards and/or mother's recall was the dependent dichotomous variable. Fuel type was classified as high-pollution fuels (i.e. wood, straw, animal dung, crop residues, kerosene, coal and charcoal) and low-pollution fuels (i.e. electricity, liquid petroleum gas, natural gas and biogas). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to assess the effect of fuel type on birth weight. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and their 95% confidence interval (CIs) were calculated. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The prevalence of low birth weight was 17% and 26.2% among low- and high-polluting fuel users, respectively. Compared with low-polluting fuels, the use of high-polluting cooking fuels was associated with an increased likelihood of low birth weight (unadjusted crude odds ratio 1.7; 95% CI 1.3, 2.3). AOR remained at 1.7 (95% CI 1.26, 2.3) after controlling for child variables. AOR after controlling for both child and maternal factors was 1.5 (95% CI 1.1, 2.1). In the final model, the association became insignificant with an AOR of 1.3 (95% CI 0.9, 1.9). The kitchen location, gender of the baby, mother's anaemia status, maternal chat chewing and wealth index were significant factors in the final model. Conclusions: In this study, the use of biomass fuels and kitchen location were associated with reduced child size at birth. Further observational studies should investigate this association using more direct methods for measurement of exposure to smoke emitted from biomass fuels on birth weight.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Adolescent anemia is a major public health problem worldwide. Adolescents (10-19 years) are at an increased risk of developing anemia due to increased iron demand during puberty, menstrual losses, limited dietary iron intake, and faulty dietary habits. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among male and female adolescent students in Dilla Town, Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia, May 2018. METHODS: A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was employed among 742 school adolescents. Basic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, haemoglobin measurement, and others were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 software, and descriptive statistics were computed for all variables. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses using binary logistic regression were done, the results were interpreted by using AOR with their corresponding 95% CI, and statistically significant difference was declared at p < 0.05. RESULT: Out of the total 742 respondents, 377 (50.8%) were males and 365 (49.2%) were females. The overall prevalence of anemia was 21.1%, and the prevalence of anemia was 22.5% among male adolescents and 19.7% among females. Male adolescent students within the early adolescence age group (10-13 yrs) (AOR 0.27, 95% CI, 0.08-0.87), those consuming fibre-rich foods daily (AOR 0.11, 95% CI, 0.02-0.61), and those having no intestinal parasites (AOR 0.04, 95% CI, 0.02-0.09) were less likely to be anemic. Similarly, female adolescent students not having intestinal parasites (AOR 0.05, 95% CI, 0.01-0.11) were less likely to develop anemia while those from malaria endemic area (AOR 2.57, 95% CI, 1.13-5.83) were identified to be more anemic. CONCLUSION: This study identified that anemia was a moderate public health significance in the study area, and the prevalence of anemia was slightly higher among male than female adolescents. Age category, frequency of eating fibre-rich foods, and positive intestinal parasite tests were factors contributing for anemia among male adolescents while presence of intestinal parasite and malaria endemicity were the determinants of anemia among female adolescents.
