The Prevalence Rate of Malnutrition in Children Younger than 5 in Iran in 2018

Abstract

Context: The first stage of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) was founded Iran to achieve better access to needed health services.

Aims: The aim of present study was to illustrate the prevalence rate of malnutrition's subtypes in under 5-year old children after UHC in comparison with before that.

Settings and design: In a cross-sectional study in 2018, anthropometric indices of 970 under 5 years old children in rural and small towns of Isfahan province were gathered from their health files by cluster randomized sampling method.

Methods: Children whose weight for age, height for age, and weight for height were lower than -2SD based on Z score, were marked as underweight, stunting, and wasting, respectively. Children, whose weight for age was upper than +2SD, were marked as overweight.

Statistical analysis used: The T-test, Chi-square, and logistic regression tests were used for determination of association between malnutrition's subtypes and demographic variables.

Results: A total of 78 (8.04%) of under 5 years old children were wasting, 74 (7.63%) were underweight, and 82 (8.45%) were stunting. Also, 12 (1.23%) of the children from the same group were overweight.

Conclusions: The prevalence rate of underweight and stunting in under 5 years old children were less than before UHC implementation period. The prevalence rate of overweight children below 5 in Isfahan province's villages and small towns was low.

Keywords: Developing countries. Iran; failure to thrive; family physician; stunting; underweight; wasting.