Agroecological Zone is Associated with Stunting in Children Aged 12–59 Months in Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between agroecological zones (AEZ) and stunting in children aged 12–59 months in Kenya. Kenya has 7 AEZ, ranging from humid to very arid. Aflatoxin exposure has been associated with child stunting and studies have found that aflatoxin contamination of grain varies by AEZ with aflatoxin highest in AEZ with moderate rainfall (600–1000mm). GPS data from the 2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey and an AEZ GIS map of Kenya were used to calculate AEZ for children (n=3015 children). Mean HAZ was −1.58 (range= −1.44 in very arid to −1.93 in semi‐arid). A hierarchical linear model was used to predict height‐for‐age Z score (HAZ) and child stunting (z<‐2). After controlling for known predictors of child stunting (sex, diet diversity, wealth index, and maternal height, weight and education), there were no significant differences in HAZ among zones except for the semi‐arid zone (rainfall ranging from 450–900mm) where children are 47% more likely to be stunted (OR = 1.47, CI (1.063,2.033)) with a difference of almost 0.4 Z scores (ΔHAZ =‐0.358 compared to mean HAZ in other zones, P= 0.011). These findings suggest that a characteristic of AEZ‐potentially aflatoxin contamination of grain‐is associated with child stunting in Kenya.Grant Funding Source : None