Determinants of infant and young child feeding practices in Nepal: secondary data analysis of Demographic and Health Survey 2006.

BACKGROUND: Childhood undernutrition and mortality are high in Nepal, and therefore interventions on infant and young child feeding practices deserve high priority. OBJECTIVE: To estimate infant and young child feeding indicators and the determinants of selected feeding practices. METHODS: The sample consisted of 1906 children aged O to 23 months from the Demographic and Health Survey 2006. Selected indicators were examined against a set of variables using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Breastfeeding was initiated within the first hour after birth in 35.4% of children, 99.5% were ever breastfed, 98.1% were currently breastfed, and 3.5% were bottle-fed. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding among infants under 6 months of age was 53.1%, and the rate of timely complementary feeding among those 6 to 9 months of age was 74.7%. Mothers who made antenatal clinic visits were at a higher risk for no exclusive breastfeeding than those who made no visits. Mothers who lived in the mountains were more likely to initiate breastfeeding within 1 hour after birth and to introduce complementary feeding at 6 to 9 months of age, but less likely to exclusively breastfeed. Cesarean deliveries were associated with delay in timely initiation of breastfeeding. Higher rates of complementary feeding at 6 to 9 months were also associated with mothers with better education and those above 35 years of age. Risk factors for bottle-feeding included living in urban areas and births attended by trained health personnel. CONCLUSIONS: Most breastfeeding indicators in Nepal are below the expected levels to achieve a substantial reduction in child mortality. Breastfeeding promotion strategies should specifically target mothers who have more contact with the health care delivery system, while programs targeting the entire community should be continued.

Comparative study of the quality and efficacy of originator and generic albendazole for mass treatment of soil-transmitted nematode infections in Nepal.

The quality and efficacy of two locally manufactured generic albendazole (ABZ) products (Curex and Royal Drug) used for deworming children in Nepal since 1999 were tested against the originator product (GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)). The study included disintegration and dissolution testing according to the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), respectively, as well as a randomised controlled clinical trial comparing cure rates (CR) and egg reduction rates (ERR) for Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm infections. Stool samples from 1277 children were examined before and 21 days after treatment. For A. lumbricoides, GSK (97.0%) and Royal Drug (95.0%) ABZ achieved significantly higher CRs than Curex ABZ (82.6%); however, all products achieved ERRs >90%. For T. trichiura, Curex ABZ showed significantly lower ERRs (63.2%). For hookworms, GSK ABZ performed significantly better (CR 74.3%, ERR 87.1%) than Royal Drug ABZ (CR 53.3%, ERR 80.8%) and Curex ABZ (CR 50.7%, ERR 73.1%). Only the GSK product passed both disintegration and dissolution tests according to the IP and USP. Both generic products failed the dissolution tests. Curex ABZ showed poor disintegration. Despite its lower efficacy, the cheaper Curex product achieved good results in controlling morbidity due to soil-transmitted helminth infections. This study shows that the cost effectiveness of drugs used in mass deworming campaigns should not be inferred on the basis of a single quality testing parameter.

Effects of economic status and education level on the height and weight of community adolescents in Nepal.

There is scarce information on the relative importance of socio-economic factors in determining the adolescent anthropometric measurements. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of economic status, education level, and food consumption on the height and weight of community adolescents in Nepal. The study was done in the communities of the Kathmandu Valley area in Nepal. All together 426 unmarried adolescent girls aged 14-19 y were selected. The adolescents were interviewed regarding socioeconomic background (education, occupation and property possessions) and frequency of foods consumption. Height and weight were determined and BMI was calculated. Z-scores of height-for-age and weight-for-age were calculated based on the WHO/NCHS standard to avoid bias by age. The adolescents participating in the survey were categorized into three groups using the various indicators of economic status: Low Economic Status (LES) group, Middle Economic Status (MES) group and High Economic Status (HES) group. The Z-scores of height and weight were significantly lower in the LES group than in the MES and HES groups (p<0.05). The Z-score of height was significantly increased with education level even under the condition of controlling economic level (p<0.05). Since the frequency of milk consumption was significantly related not only with height (p<0.05), but also with economic (chi2=31.6, df=4, p<0.001) and education levels (chi2=22.4, df=6, p<0.01), the increased height in the groups of the better economic status or the better education level was interpreted to be due to the outcome of the higher frequency of milk consumption. This study indicated that education was a more important factor affecting the height of the adolescents via improved food habits even under adverse economic conditions.

Current status of vitamin A deficiency and the National Vitamin A Control Program in Nepal: results of the 1998 National Micronutrient Status Survey.

The overall objective of the Nepal Micronutrient Status Survey (NMSS) was to assess the distribution and severity of micronutrient malnutrition, and to measure the progress achieved by different interventions. Data presented in this paper concern the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and the outreach and coverage of the National Vitamin A Supplementation activity. A multi-stage cluster sample design was employed that provided statistically representative data for each of thirteen eco-development strata (because of low population density, the West Mountains, Mid-west Mountains and Far-west Mountains were combined into a single stratum). The design allowed for aggregate estimates to be made at the national and ecological zone level. The survey showed a significant improvement in the status of clinical vitamin A deficiency in Nepal. The prevalence of both Bitot's spots and night-blindness among preschool children decreased from levels observed in surveys conducted in the previous twenty years. However, the prevalence of night-blindness was found to be 5% among women, and over 1% among school-aged children, which indicates that the entire population is vulnerable to VAD. These observations support findings from other surveys that have noted a high prevalence of maternal night-blindness in Nepal. Biochemical data collected as part of the survey indicated a high prevalence of low serum retinol (< 0.70 mumol/l), particularly among preschool children. Almost one of every three children (32.3%) and one of every six women (16.6%) had low serum retinol values. Low serum retinol among preschool children was associated with young age (6-11 months), rural location, wasting, presence of night-blindness and Bitot's spots, and residence in the Terai or Mountains. Similarly, sub-clinical VAD in women was associated with age (less than 20 years), pregnancy, the presence of night-blindness and residence in the Terai or Mountains. In the 42 districts covered by the National Vitamin A Programme (NVAP), more than 87% of preschool children were reached with vitamin A capsules. In addition to this, the National Immunisation Day (NID) provided oral polio vaccine drops to an estimated 95.7% of children 12-59 months. Awareness of the importance of vitamin A was, however, much higher in the NVAP districts than in non-programme districts. As would be expected, clinical VAD was most prevalent among children who had not received vitamin A during the most recent vitamin A capsule distribution. Indeed, the data show that vitamin A capsule receipt among children conferred a 59% protective effect for night-blindness and a 51% effect for Bitot's spots. These results point to significant progress having been achieved by the NVAP and NID capsule distribution activities.