Malnutrition among under-five children in St. Martin’s Island, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study on prevalence and associated factors

OBJECTIVES: Early childhood nutrition is critical for physical and mental development, and any hindrance (malnutrition) at this stage adversely affects adulthood which makes them more susceptible to a variety of communicable and non-communicable diseases. St. Martin’s Island was the focus of this study, which examined the prevalence and risk factors for malnutrition among under-five children. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 256 children aged under five were assessed for anthropometry, and multiple logistic regression models were fitted to identify potential predictors of malnutrition. For analysis, SPSS and WHO Anthro software were used. RESULTS: The prevalence of stunting, wasting, underweight, and overweight were 34.4%, 17.6%, 18.9%, and 6.9% respectively among children under-five years of age in St. Martin’s Island. An increase in child’s age decreases their risk of being stunted (AOR = 0.97, p = 0.006). Males were more likely than females to be wasted (AOR = 2.03, p = 0.001). Both stunting (AOR = 2.42, p = 0.004) and wasting (AOR = 2.82, p = 0.015) rate were higher among the poorer section as compared to the richest. On the contrary, underweight was low among the poorest section (AOR = 0.37, p = 0.024). Other socio-economic factors, for example, household food insecurity, and parental occupation affect these forms of malnutrition significantly. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of all forms of malnutrition except underweight was higher as compared to the national perspective in St. Martin’s Island among the under-five children. Community-based approaches by the local government in collaboration with various non-government organizations should be taken to reduce and prevent malnutrition among children.