Table 1. Study population characteristics at baseline of the original randomized controlled trial.
| Original study (N =511) | Current study (N =307) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control (n =248) | Intervention (n =263) | Control (n =141) | Intervention (n =166) | |
| Children characteristics | ||||
| Gender-male | 123(50) | 139(53) | 67 (48) | 81 (49) |
| Mean (SD) age (months) | 7.3 ± 0.9 | 7.4 ± 0.8 | 7.2 ± 0.9 | 7.4 ± 0.9 |
| Underweight | 36 (15) | 25 (9.5) | 17(12) | 16 (9.6) |
| Wasting | 12 (4.8) | 12 (4.6) | 5 (3.6) | 8 (4.8) |
| Stunting | 70 (28) | 55(21) | 40 (28) | 34 (20) |
| Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months | ||||
| Yes | 178 (72) | 184(70) | 100(71) | 107 (64) |
| No | 70 (28) | 79 (30) | 41 (29) | 59 (36) |
| Breastfeeding frequency | ||||
| ≥8 times/day | 171 (69) | 170 (65) | 99 (70) | 109 (67) |
| <8 times/day | 77(31) | 93 (35) | 42 (30) | 57 (34) |
| Illness at recruitment | ||||
| Yes | 71 (29) | 94 (36) | 48 (34) | 45 (27) |
| No | 177(71) | 169 (64) | 93 (66) | 121 (73) |
| Maternal characteristics | ||||
| Median (IQR) maternal age (years)a | 26 (22−30) | 25 (21−30) | 27 (22−30) | 25 (21−30) |
| Level of education | ||||
| None/primary | 166(70) | 173 (66) | 95 (67) | 110(66) |
| Lower secondary | 62 (25) | 64 (24) | 38 (27) | 45 (27) |
| Tertiary | 20 (8.1) | 26 (9.9) | 8 (5.7) | 11 (6.6) |
| Number of biological children | ||||
| <5 | 184 (74) | 187 (71) | 91 (65) | 116(70) |
| ≥5 | 64 (26) | 76 (29) | 50 (35) | 50 (30) |
| Household-level characteristics | ||||
| Median (IQR) household head age (years) | 30 (25−38) | 30 (25−36) | 30 (25−39) | 30 (25−35) |
| Level of education | ||||
| None/primary | 138(56) | 138(52) | 77 (55) | 82 (49) |
| Lower secondary | 80 (32) | 78 (30) | 47 (33) | 55 (33) |
| Tertiary | 30(12) | 47 (18) | 17(12) | 29(18) |
| Household size | ||||
| 3 to 5 | 139(56) | 150(57) | 72 (51) | 96 (58) |
| 6 to 10 | 109(44) | 113(43) | 69 (49) | 70 (42) |
| Median (IQR) poverty score | 49 (39−57) | 49 (40−57) | 49 (40−57) | 49 (40−55) |
Values are n (%) unless otherwise stated.
a
7 missing records (4 in intervention and 3 in control group). There were no differences (P > 0.05) in any of the characteristics between the two study groups, neither for the original randomized controlled trial cohort nor for the follow-up cohort. Underweight was defined as weight-for-age z score < −2 standard deviations (SD) below the median of the WHO child growth standard; wasting as weight-for-height z-score < −2 SD for children 6−8 months and as BMI-for-age z-score < −2 SD for children aged 60−72 months; and stunting as height-for-age z-score < −2 SD. IQR, interquartile range.