Socioeconomic Inequalities in Women's Undernutrition: Evidence from Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017-2018.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(8)2022 04 13.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1809870
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to explore the socioeconomic inequalities in undernutrition among ever-married women of reproductive age. We used nationally representative cross-sectional data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2017-2018. Undernutrition was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of <18.5 kg/m2. The concentration index (C) was used to measure the socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of women's undernutrition. A multiple binary logistic regression model was carried out to find out the factors associated with women's undernutrition. The prevalence of undernutrition among women of 15-49 years was 12%. Among them, 8.5% of women were from urban and 12.7% of women were from rural areas. The prevalence of undernutrition was highest (21.9%) among women who belonged to the adolescent age group (15-19 years). The C showed that undernutrition was more prevalent among the socioeconomically worst-off (poorest) group in Bangladesh (C = -0.26). An adjusted multiple logistic regression model indicated that women less than 19 years of age had higher odds (adjusted odds ratio, AOR 2.81; 95% confidence interval, CI 2.23, 3.55) of being undernourished. Women from the poorest wealth quintile (AOR 3.93, 95% CI 3.21, 4.81) had higher odds of being undernourished. On the other hand, women who had completed secondary or higher education (AOR 0.55; 95% CI 0.49, 0.61), married women who were living with their husbands (AOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.61, 0.86), and women exposed to mass media (AOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.79, 0.97) were less likely to be undernourished. Intervention strategies should be developed targeting the poorest to combat undernutrition in women of reproductive age in Bangladesh.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Malnutrition
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph19084698
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