Determinants of malnutrition among under-five children in Biratnagar, hospital based case control study

Background: Malnutrition refers to scarcities, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s input of energy and/or nutrients. The burden of malnutrition generally occurs within the African and Asian countries of the world. About half of the preschool children are emaciated ranging from 19% in Nepal to 64% in Bangladesh. This study aimed to find out the determinants of malnutrition among under-five children of Biratnagar.

Methods: The case-control study design was used among 104 (26 cases and 78 controls) children. Case was children diagnosed as acute malnutrition admitted in Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre of Koshi Hospital. Control was (±4 months) children who arrived in paediatric OPD and MCH clinic of Koshi Hospital with normal anthropometric dimension. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to identify the determinants of malnutrition and anthropometric dimension was done for assessment of malnutrition.

Results: The possible threat factors linked in this study were father’s education level, father’s occupation, residence, socio-economic status, child’s sex, child’s birth weight and history of hospitalization within one year in a bivariate analysis. After conforming all confounders malnutrition was significantly associated with cases abiding in rural area [aOR 5.36, 95% CI (1.63-17.64)] and history of hospitalization within one year [aOR 0.18, 95% CI (0.06-0.57)].

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that rural residence and history of hospitalization within one year were significant predictors of childhood malnutrition.

Key words: Case Control Study, Determinants, Malnutrition, Under Five Children

Laxmi Dahal is an academician and nursing professional serving as an Assistant Professor of Child Health Nursing at Biratnagar Nursing Campus, a constituent campus of the Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University. She specializes in child health nursing and clinical paediatric nursing education. As a researcher, she is actively involved in clinical research aimed at advancing nursing practice and public health in Nepal. Her areas of interest include neonatal health, child health, and public health practices. Her professional contributions include mentoring undergraduate nursing students in paediatric critical care and general ward settings. She also actively participates in training programs conducted by Tribhuvan University that bridge theoretical nursing concepts with real-world clinical practice.