Table 5.
Factors associated with stunting (LAZ < −2) in South Asian children <2 years old (2005–2016): Results of adjusted Poisson regression 1.
| Factors | aRR 2 | 95% CI 3 | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community-Level and Socio-Economic Status Factors | |||
| Country | |||
| India | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Afghanistan | 1.75 | (1.56, 1.96) | <0.0001 |
| Bangladesh | 0.84 | (0.77, 0.92) | <0.0001 |
| Bhutan | 0.88 | (0.62, 1.27) | 0.510 |
| Maldives | 0.89 | (0.76, 1.04) | 0.150 |
| Nepal | 0.85 | (0.77, 0.94) | 0.002 |
| Pakistan | 1.11 | (0.98, 1.24) | 0.086 |
| Fuel used for cooking | |||
| Biomass energy | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Natural gas | 0.87 | (0.83, 0.90) | <0.00010 |
| Maternal educational status | |||
| Secondary and above | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Up to primary | 1.20 | (1.15, 1.25) | <0.0001 |
| No education | 1.33 | (1.28, 1.38) | <0.0001 |
| Source of drinking water | |||
| Improved | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Unimproved | 0.95 | (0.91, 0.99) | 0.017 |
| Sanitary facility | |||
| Improved | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Unimproved | 1.11 | (1.06, 1.15) | <0.0001 |
| Household wealth index | |||
| Quintile 1 (Wealthiest) | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Quintile 2 | 1.16 | (1.09, 1.25) | <0.0001 |
| Quintile 3 (Middle) | 1.20 | (1.12, 1.28) | <0.0001 |
| Quintile 4 | 1.27 | (1.18, 1.36) | <0.0001 |
| Quintile 5 (Poorest) | 1.30 | (1.20, 1.39) | <0.0001 |
| Maternal and child characteristics | |||
| Maternal age at childbirth | |||
| 20–24 years | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| <20 years | 1.02 | (0.99, 1.05) | 0.110 |
| >24 years | 0.92 | (0.88, 0.96) | <0.0001 |
| Sex of child | |||
| Female | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Male | 1.09 | (1.06, 1.12) | <0.0001 |
| Age of child (in months) | 1.09 | (1.08, 1.09) | <0.0001 |
| The child had diarrhea in the last two weeks | |||
| No | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| Yes | 1.08 | (1.07, 1.08) | <0.0001 |
| Perinatal health services variable | |||
| Number of ANC visits | |||
| No ANC visit | 1.00 | (reference) | |
| 1–3 ANC visits | 0.93 | (0.90, 0.96) | <0.0001 |
| 4 or more ANC visits | 0.84 | (0.81, 0.88) | <0.0001 |
1 Adjusted for country, area of residence, maternal marital status, maternal educational status, fuel used for cooking, source of drinking water, sanitation facilities, pooled household wealth index, maternal age at childbirth, sex of child, the timing of initiation of breastfeeding, age of the child, and child had diarrhea during last two weeks before the interview. Also, we adjusted the model for the duration of recall. 2 aRR: Adjusted relative risk. 3 CI: Confidence interval.