Table 1.
Demographic and nutritional characteristics and s-25(OH)D concentrations (nmol/l) of rural Nepalese children (n 280) aged 12–60 months, September–November 2012
| Characteristic | s-25(OH)D | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | Mean | sd | P value | |
| Age (months) | |||||
| 12–24 | 93 | 33·2 | 35·4 | 13·1 | |
| 25–36 | 72 | 25·7 | 30·8 | 11·4 | |
| 37–60 | 115 | 41·1 | 29·0 | 10·7 | 0·01 |
| Sex | |||||
| Female | 123 | 43·9 | 31·2 | 11·2 | |
| Male | 157 | 56·1 | 31·9 | 12·6 | 0·6 |
| Household income (monthly, NRS*) | |||||
| Below 14 999 | 140 | 50·0 | 32·7 | 12·2 | |
| 15 000–39 999 | 87 | 31·1 | 31·1 | 11·7 | |
| Above 40 000 | 53 | 18·9 | 29·4 | 11·9 | 0·2 |
| Currently breast-feeding (for children aged 12–36 months) | |||||
| Yes | 102 | 61·8 | 36·4 | 13·2 | |
| No | 63 | 38·2 | 28·6 | 9·8 | 0·001 |
| Nutritional status† | |||||
| Weight-for-height | |||||
| Corresponds to normal | 251 | 94·4 | 31·2 | 11·6 | |
| Wasting‡ | 15 | 5·6 | 38·2 | 15·7 | 0·11 |
| Weight-for-age | |||||
| Corresponds to normal | 214 | 76·4 | 31·1 | 11·7 | |
| Underweight | 47 | 16·8 | 31·6 | 11·4 | |
| Severe underweight | 19 | 6·8 | 37·5 | 15·4 | 0·98 |
| Height-for-age | |||||
| Corresponds to normal | 148 | 55·4 | 31·7 | 12·2 | |
| Stunting | 74 | 27·7 | 31·0 | 11·8 | |
| Severe stunting | 45 | 16·9 | 32·8 | 11·6 | 0·74 |
s-25(OH)D, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
*
NRS, Nepalese Rupees; $US 1=approx. NRS 100 as of 30 September 2012.
†
Nutritional status defined according to WHO standards.
‡
Nutritional status determined with cut-offs −2 sd, includes three cases with score below −3 sd.