Table 1.
Maternal, household and infant characteristics by group membership
| Total | Group 1 chronically stunted, N a = 731 | Group 2 recovery group, N = 359 | Group 3 borderline stunted, N = 2657 | Group 4 normal group, N = 781 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Maternal characteristics | |||||
| Education in years (N = 4403) | |||||
| <6 | 2141 (48.6) | 445 (62.0) | 154 (43.4) | 1234 (47.9) | 308 (40.7) |
| 6–11 | 2147 (48.8) | 264 (36.8) | 194 (54.6) | 1271 (49.4) | 418 (55.3) |
| 12+ | 115 (2.6) | 9 (1.2) | 7 (2.0) | 69 (2.7) | 30 (4.0) |
| Age in years (N = 4120) | |||||
| 16–20 | 663 (16.1) | 117 (17.3) | 77 (22.6) | 383 (16.1) | 86 (12.1) |
| 21–24 | 1116 (27.1) | 170 (25.2) | 99 (29.0) | 653 (27.3) | 194 (27.2) |
| 25–29 | 1062 (25.8) | 168 (24.9) | 74 (21.7) | 623 (26.1) | 197 (27.6) |
| 30–34 | 756 (18.4) | 117 (17.3) | 63 (18.5) | 434 (18.2) | 142 (19.9) |
| ≥35 | 523 (12.7) | 103 (15.3) | 28 (8.2) | 298 (12.5) | 94 (13.2) |
| Height in cm (N = 4278) | |||||
| <145 | 30 (1.0) | 15 (2.2) | 0 (0.0) | 13 (0.5) | 2 (0.3) |
| 145–149.9 | 259 (6.1) | 70 (10.0) | 23 (6.5) | 153 (6.1) | 13 (1.8) |
| 150–154.9 | 840 (19.6) | 168 (24.1) | 72 (20.2) | 500 (20.0) | 100 (13.8) |
| 155–159.9 | 1318 (30.8) | 216 (31.0) | 116 (32.6) | 780 (31.2) | 206 (28.4) |
| >160 | 1831 (42.8) | 229 (32.8) | 145 (40.7) | 1052 (42.2) | 405 (55.8) |
| MDDW at birth (N = 4361) b | 540 (12.4) | 56 (7.9) | 52 (14.5) | 323 (12.7) | 109 (14.7) |
| Anaemia (N = 3873) c | 561 (14.5) | 95 (14.7) | 49 (15.0) | 332 (14.8) | 85 (13.0) |
| Iron deficiency (Ferritin; N = 1578) c | 198 (12.6) | 31 (13.0) | 17 (12.9) | 115 (12.3) | 35 (12.9) |
| Iron‐deficient erythropoiesis (N = 1578) c | 339 (21.5) | 50 (20.9) | 19 (14.4) | 215 (23.0) | 55 (20.3) |
| Inflammation (N = 1578) c | 872 (55.3) | 141 (59.0) | 72 (54.6) | 521 (55.7) | 138 (50.9) |
| HIV‐positive mothers (N = 2548) | 169 (6.6) | 33 (8.6) | 20 (9.2) | 92 (6.3) | 24 (5.0) |
| Median aflatoxin B1‐lysine adduct levels (N = 3092) | 3.2 (IQR = 7.2) | 2.7 (IQR = 6.8) | 4.4 (IQR = 8.6) | 3.2 (IQR = 7.1) | 3.2 (IQR = 6.9) |
| Household characteristics | |||||
| Wealth index (N = 4386) | |||||
| Poorest | 874 (19.9) | 122 (17.0) | 73 (20.6) | 543 (21.2) | 136 (18.1) |
| Poorer | 861 (19.6) | 174 (24.3) | 72 (20.3) | 505 (19.7) | 110 (14.6) |
| Middle | 882 (20.1) | 202 (28.2) | 66 (18.6) | 495 (19.3) | 119 (15.8) |
| Richer | 887 (20.2) | 124 (17.3) | 73 (20.6) | 506 (19.7) | 184 (24.5) |
| Richest | 882 (20.1) | 94 (13.1) | 70 (19.8) | 515 (20.1) | 203 (27.0) |
| HFIAS (N = 4399) | |||||
| Food secure | 1681 (38.2) | 230 (32.0) | 172 (48.5) | 961 (37.4) | 318 (42.1) |
| Mildly food insecure access | 1092 (24.8) | 175 (24.4) | 71 (20.0) | 647 (25.2) | 199 (26.3) |
| Moderately food insecure access | 1019 (23.2) | 186 (26.0) | 71 (20.0) | 597 (23.2) | 165 (21.8) |
| Severely food insecure access | 607 (13.8) | 127 (17.7) | 41 (11.6) | 365 (14.2) | 74 (9.8) |
| Southwest region (N = 4403) | 2192 (49.8) | 370 (51.5) | 161 (45.4) | 1239 (48.1) | 422 (55.8) |
| Infant characteristics | |||||
| Female child (N = 4245) | 2139 (50.4) | 266 (38.1) | 195 (54.6) | 1233 (50.0) | 445 (61.3) |
| Exclusive breastfeeding (birth; N = 4301) | 3915 (91.0) | 614 (87.6) | 334 (93.4) | 2306 (91.8) | 661 (90.4) |
| Exclusive breastfed at 3 months (N = 3558) | 3558 (100) | 565 (100) | 274 (100) | 2095 (100) | 624 (100) |
| Low birth weight (N = 4238) | 186 (4.4) | 67 (9.6) | 25 (7.0) | 90 (3.7) | 4 (0.6) |
| Preterm (N = 3902) | 849 (21.8) | 178 (27.3) | 85 (26.2) | 494 (21.7) | 92 (14.1) |
| Child met MDDS (6 months; N = 3162) | 129 (4.1) | 17 (3.1) | 11 (4.6) | 67 (3.7) | 34 (5.6) |
| Child met MDDS (9 months; N = 2930) | 92 (3.1) | 12 (2.4) | 8 (3.6) | 46 (2.8) | 26 (4.7) |
| Child met MDDS (12 months; N = 2077) | 198 (9.5) | 31 (8.9) | 18 (10.7) | 114 (9.8) | 35 (8.8) |
Note: HFIAS, Household Food Insecurity and Access Scale (Coates et al., 2007); MDDS, Minimum Diet Diversity score among 6‐ to 23‐month‐old children (at least four of the seven food groups based on the Infant and Young child‐feeding practices; World Health Organization, 2008).
Maximum frequency in each group. There are variations in sample sizes for each risk factor due to missing values or subgroups for micronutrient variables and HIV sero‐status. Percentage estimates are column percentages for each group. Denominators used have not been presented.
Women's Minimum Diet Diversity score (≥5 food groups; FAO and FHI 360, 2016).
Anaemia was defined as Hgb < 11 g/dl, iron deficiency defined as Fer < 15 µg/L and iron‐deficient erythropoiesis defined as sTFR > 8.3 mg/L, vitamin A deficiency is defined as (RBP < 0.7 µmol/L). Inflammation was defined as CRP ≤ 5 or AGP > 1.