Table 2.
Sociodemographic factors and underweight status of children aged under five years in Ilam district Nepal.
| Sociodemographic factors | Categories | Total number (%)a | Underweight children (%)b | p-Value# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity of mothers | Disadvantaged group | 212 (70.6) | 81 (38.2) | 0.62 |
| Relatively advantaged group | 88 (29.4) | 31 (35.2) | ||
| Sex of the child | Male | 181 (60.3) | 73 (40.3) | 0.18 |
| Female | 119 (39.7) | 39 (32.8) | ||
| Age group of children | 0–23 months | 154 (51.3) | 44 (28.6) | <0.001* |
| 24–59 months | 146 (48.7) | 68(46.6) | ||
| Birth interval of index child | None (first child) | 148 (49.3) | 53 (35.8) | 0.38 |
| 12–36 months | 69 (23.0) | 23 (33.3) | ||
| ≥36 months | 83 (27.7) | 36 (43.4) | ||
| Mother’s age at first child birth | ≥20 years | 138 (46.0) | 50 (36.2) | 0.71 |
| <20 years | 162 (54.0) | 62 (38.3) | ||
| Household size | ≤5 | 197 (65.7) | 76 (38.6) | 0.61 |
| >5 | 103 (34.3) | 36 (35.0) | ||
| Main maternal occupation | Agriculture | 247 (82.3) | 89 (36) | 0.31 |
| Business | 23 (7.7) | 8 (34.8) | ||
| Labor | 30 (10) | 15 (50) | ||
| Maternal education | Illiterate | 62 (20.7) | 31 (50.0) | <0.001* |
| Primary education | 41 (13.7) | 20 (48.8) | ||
| Secondary education | 197 (65.6) | 61 (31.0) | ||
| Area of land owned | Landless | 30 (10.0) | 19 (63.3) | <0.007* |
| Up to 0.5 ha | 167 (55.7) | 61 (36.5) | ||
| ≥0.5 ha | 103 (34.3) | 32 (31.1) | ||
| Food sufficiency around the year | No | 115 (39.0) | 38 (49.3) | 0.22 |
| Yes | 185 (61.0) | 74 (40.0) |
aColumn percentage.
bRow percentage.
#Chi-square test of association.
*p < 0.05.