Page 100 - IJPS-2-1

Cross-sectional study of child malnutrition and associated risk factors among children aged under five in West Bengal, India

relationship between stunted growth and child’s age, whereas the proportion of those diagnosed as
‘wasting’ increased as the age increased. We also observed gender differentials in the prevalence of
malnutrition, with the greater percentage of female children diagnosed as underweight (44%), stunt-
ed (55%), and wasting (19%) relative to their male counterparts.

3.3 Socio-economic Differentials in Malnutrition
While the prevalence of malnutrition (classified as underweight status, stunting, and wasting)
among children that were under five years of age did not vary significantly with the religious status,
significant differences across the castes were noted (Table 3). The proportion of underweight chil-
dren was the highest (48%)in SC and ST. Similarly, the highest proportion of stunted children was
found among ST (67%), followed by SC (57%). Prevalence of wasting was also the highest (32%)
among children from OBC. The mean Z-scores for weight-for-age (F = 7.98; p <0.001), height-
for-age (F = 3.76; p = 0.011) and weight-for height (F = 1.22; p = 0.30) also varied significantly
across different caste groups. Household’s MPCE quintile status was marginally correlated with
2
2
the child being underweight (χ = 8.71; p = 0.069), and exhibiting stunted growth (χ = 14.14; p =
0.007). More specifically, the prevalence of underweight and stunted children was significantly
higher in the lower MPCE quintile households compared to the upper MPCE quintiles. We observed
st
that almost 51% and 63% of the children in the 1 MPCE quintile households were underweight and
stunted. A significant difference in the mean Z-score for weight-for-age (F = 4.95; p<0.001) and
height-for-age (F = 2.65; p = 0.032) was also observed when the data was analyzed with respect to
the household MPCE quintile status.

Table 3. Socio-economic differentials of children bellow −2SD and mean Z scores pertaining to various nutritional indices
Social and Economic Underweight Stunting Wasting
Variables <−2SD Mean Z score <−2SD Mean Z score <−2SD Mean Z score
Religion
Hindu 41.60 –1.7 52.89 –2.0 23.69 –0.8
Muslim 40.98 –1.6 46.72 –1.8 18.85 –0.9
χ = 0.0142 t = -0.6643 χ = 1.3920 t = -0.8307 χ = 1.2272 t = 0.4840
2
2
2
p = 0.905 p = 0.5068 p = 0.238 p = 0.4065 p = 0.268 p = 0.6286
Caste
SC 48.20 –1.9 56.83 –2.2 28.06 –1.0
ST 48.00 –2.0 67.00 –2.3 20.00 –0.9
OBC 38.00 –1.6 42.00 –1.5 32.00 –1.1
General 34.18 –1.4 41.84 –1.7 17.35 –0.7
2
2
2
χ = 8.8883 F=7.98 χ = 20.3278 F= 3.76 χ = 8.3997 F= 1.22
p = 0.031 p = 0.000 p = 0.000 p = 0.0108 p = 0.038 p = 0.3023
MPCE Groups
1st Quintile 50.52 –2.0 62.89 –2.4 21.65 –0.8
2nd Quintile 44.33 –1.9 53.61 –2.0 22.68 –1.1
3rd Quintile 44.33 –1.7 56.70 –1.9 21.65 –0.9
4th Quintile 31.96 –1.4 39.18 –1.6 21.65 –0.9
5th Quintile 36.08 –1.4 44.33 –1.7 24.74 –0.6
2
χ = 8.7002 F = 4.95 χ =14.1462 F = 2.65 χ = 0.4024 F = 1.09
2
2
p = 0.069 p = 0.0006 p = 0.007 p = 0.0326 p =0.982 p = 0.3626
Note: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is applied (F test) to test the differences in the mean Z scores of more than two categorical independent variables;
t-test is applied to test the differences in the mean Z scores of two categorical independent variables; Underweight = Weight-for-Age; Stunting = Height-for-Age;
Wasting = Weight-for-Height
94 International Journal of Population Studies | 2016, Volume 2, Issue 1