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. 2023 Oct 19;23:2040. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16907-x

Table 4.

Factors associated with underweight among boys and girls in children 0–59 months, EDHS 2000–2016

Variables Boys (n = 17,188) Girls (n = 16,541)
Underweight proportion (%) Unadjusted OR (95%CI) p-value Underweight proportion (%) Unadjusted OR (95%CI) p-value
Child factors
Age (months)
   < 6 13.06 0.29 (0.25–0.34) p < 0.001 11.62 0.23 (0.19–0.27) p < 0.001
  6–11 29.15 0.68 (0.61–0.78) p < 0.001 19.51 0.45 (0.40–0.52) p < 0.001
  12–23 37.31 1.08 (0.99–1.19) 0.073 28.86 0.79 (0.71–0.86) p < 0.001
  24–35 37.09 1.17 (1.07–1.28) 0.001 33.14 0.94 (0.86–1.04) 0.251
  36–59 35.16 Ref. 26.01 Ref.
Birth order
  Firstborn 29.28 0.64 (0.58–0.71) p < 0.001 25.08 0.64 (0.58–0.72) p < 0.001
  2–4 32.82 0.84 (0.78–0.91) p < 0.001 29.62 0.82 (0.76–0.89) p < 0.001
  5 or higher 35.20 Ref. 32.23 Ref.
Birth interval
   < 33 months 32.17 Ref. 28.42 Ref.
   ≥ 33 months 35.20 1.13 (1.05–1.21) 0.001 33.03 1.21 (1.12–1.31) p < 0.001
Size of a child at birth
  Larger 26.64 Ref. 25.41 Ref.
  Average 31.86 1.28 (1.18–1.39) p < 0.001 29.21 1.15 (1.05–1.26) 0.003
  Small 44.36 2.12 (1.94–2.32) p < 0.001 39.82 1.85 (1.69–2.04) p < 0.001
Currently breastfeeding
  Yes 33.58 Ref. 29.87 Ref.
  No 31.85 0.96 (0.89–1.04) 0.388 29.69 1.01 (0.93–1.09) 0.824
Early initiation of breastfeeding
  Yes 31.28 Ref. 28.20 Ref.
  No 36.17 1.14 (1.05–1.23) 0.001 31.92 1.15 (1.06–1.25) 0.001
Full vaccination
  Yes 33.28 Ref. 27.86 Ref.
  No 33.86 1.16 (1.06–1.27) 0.001 30.37 1.24 (1.13–1.36) p < 0.001
Diarrhea
  Yes 17.11 1.53 (1.41–1.67) p < 0.001 14.54 1.52 (1.38–1.66) p < 0.001
  No 10.82 Ref. 8.98 Ref.
Fever
  Yes 40.70 1.44 (1.32–1.56) p < 0.001 35.86 1.45 (1.34–1.58) p < 0.001
  No 31.18 Ref. 28.30 Ref.
Parental factors
Mother's age
   < 18 32.35 0.75 (0.49–1.13) 0.178 29.46 0.64 (0.42–0.97) 0.036
  18–24 30.43 0.80 (0.73–0.88) p < 0.001 25.53 0.73 (0.66–0.81) p < 0.001
  25–34 33.58 0.94 (0.87–1.03) 0.198 30.28 0.87 (0.79–0.95) 0.002
   ≥ 35 34.73 Ref. 32.82 Ref.
Mother's education
  No education 36.48 2.11 (1.94–2.29) p < 0.001 33.15 2.13 (1.95–2.32) p < 0.001
  Primary and above 24.09 Ref. 20.91 Ref.
Mother's occupation
  Not working 32.43 Ref. 28.20 Ref.
  Non agriculture 30.26 0.75 (0.69–0.83) p < 0.001 25.48 0.87 (0.79–0.95) 0.005
  Agriculture 36.38 1.29 (1.19–1.39) p < 0.001 35.40 1.48 (1.36–1.61) p < 0.001
Maternal stature
  Normal/Tall 28.60 Ref. 26.41 Ref.
  Short 39.80 1.60 (1.49–1.72) p < 0.001 34.42 1.47 (1.37–1.59) p < 0.001
  Very short 45.68 2.21 (1.75–2.78) p < 0.001 46.76 2.37 (1.88–2.99) p < 0.001
Listening to radio
  Yes 28.15 Ref. 25.49 Ref.
  Not at all 35.71 1.55 (1.44–1.67) p < 0.001 32.08 1.54 (1.43–1.67) p < 0.001
Watching television
  Yes 23.10 Ref. 21.44 Ref.
  Not at all 35.26 2.34 (2.11–2.58) p < 0.001 31.56 2.29 (2.06–2.55) p < 0.001
Household factors
Wealth index
  Poor 34.38 Ref. 31.23 Ref.
  Middle 28.69 0.76 (0.67–0.85) p < 0.001 26.03 0.81 (0.72–0.92) 0.001
  Rich 21.90 0.42 (0.38–0.47) p < 0.001 19.30 0.45 (0.40–0.49) p < 0.001
Household size
  1–4 30.83 0.78 (0.72–0.84) p < 0.001 27.38 0.84 (0.77–0.91) p < 0.001
   ≥ 5 33.85 Ref. 30.59 Ref.
Toilet facility
  Improved 24.66 Ref. 22.32 Ref.
  Unimproved 34.15 2.23 (2.01–2.48) p < 0.001 30.73 2.12 (1.89–2.38) p < 0.001
Source of drinking water
  Improved 29.81 Ref. 26.74 Ref.
  Unimproved 35.15 1.49 (1.39–1.61) p < 0.001 31.67 1.39 (1.29–1.51) p < 0.001
Time to get a water source
  On-premise 17.68 Ref. 13.27 Ref.
   ≤ 30 min 34.17 2.70 (2.30–3.16) p < 0.001 30.00 2.98 (2.50–3.55) p < 0.001
  31–60 min 33.67 2.80 (2.36–3.32) p < 0.001 31.56 3.14 (2.60–3.78) p < 0.001
   > 60 min 34.08 2.99 (2.53–3.55) p < 0.001 32.92 3.76 (3.12–4.52) p < 0.001
Community-level characteristics
Residence
  Urban 21.72 Ref. 17.04 Ref.
  Rural 34.47 0.36 (0.32–0.40) p < 0.001 31.39 0.36 (0.32–0.40) p < 0.001
Region
  Agrarian 35.85 Ref. 33.18 Ref.
  Pastoralist 30.87 0.98 (0.91–1.07) 0.769 26.49 0.95 (0.86–1.04) 0.269
  City administration 12.30 0.45 (0.40–0.51) p < 0.001 11.45 0.49 (0.44–0.55) p < 0.001