Table 6.
The prevalence of anemia, underweight, stunting, and wasting during the study period
| Clinical indicators | Experimental (n = 100) and control groups (n = 100) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 12 | Month 15 | |||||
| Exp. group n (%) |
Control group n (%) |
Total n (%) |
Exp. group n (%) |
Control group n (%) |
Total n (%) |
|
| Blood hemoglobin level (g/dl) | ||||||
| Normal blood hemoglobina | 71 (71) | 46 (46) | 117 (58.5) | 82 (82) | 48 (48) | 130 (65) |
| Mild anemiab | 28 (28) | 48 (48) | 76 (38) | 18 (18) | 43 (43) | 61 (30.5) |
| Moderate anemiac | 1 (1) | 6 (6) | 7 (3.5) | 0 (0) | 9 (9) | 9 (4.5) |
| Severe anemiad | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Fisher’s exact test value | 10.74 | 24.20 | ||||
| p value | 0.003* | < 0.001** | ||||
| Weight for age (z score) | ||||||
| Normal weight for agee | 100 (100) | 95 (95) | 195 (97.5) | 100 (100) | 97 (97) | 197 (98.5) |
| Moderate underweightf | 0 (0) | 5 (5) | 5 (2.5) | 0 (0) | 3 (3) | 3 (1.5) |
| Severe underweightg | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Fisher’s exact test value | 3.81 | 2.84 | ||||
| p value | 0.12 | 0.24 | ||||
| Length for age (z score) | ||||||
| Normal length for agee | 100 (100) | 91 (91) | 191 (95.5) | 99 (99) | 89 (89) | 188 (94) |
| Moderate stuntingf | 0 (0) | 9 (9) | 9 (4.5) | 1 (1) | 11 (11) | 12 (6) |
| Severe stuntingg | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Fisher’s exact test value | 7.82 | 11.89 | ||||
| p value | 0.007* | 0.002* | ||||
| Weight for length (z score) | ||||||
| Normal weight for lengthe | 100 (100) | 98 (98) | 198 (99) | 100 (100) | 98 (98) | 198 (99) |
| Moderate wastingf | 0 (0) | 2 (2) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 2 (2) | 2 (1) |
| Severe wastingg | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Fisher’s exact test value | 1.88 | 1.88 | ||||
| p value | 0.49 | 0.49 | ||||
NB At baseline, the prevalence of anemia, underweight, stunting, and wasting was zero
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.001 using Fisher’s exact test
a Hemoglobin: ≥ 11 Gram/deciliter, b: 10 to 10.9 Gram/deciliter, c: 7 to 9.9 Gram/deciliter, d: < 7 Gram/deciliter
e Normal underweight, stunting, or wasting: ≥ −2 SD of the WHO median for WAZ, LAZ, or WLZ
f Moderate underweight, stunting, or wasting: ≥ −3 SD but < −2 SD of the WHO median for WAZ, LAZ, or WLZ
g Severe underweight, stunting, or wasting: < −3 SD of the WHO median for WAZ, LAZ, or WLZ