Abstract
BackgroundStunting indicates failure to attain genetic potential for height and is a well-documented indicator for poor growth. Depression is common in women of reproductive age and women’s mental health problems may affect the growth of young children. We examined the association between maternal depression and stunting in mother-child pairs attending Child Welfare Clinic (CWC) in Northern Ghana.MethodsAn analytical cross-sectional study was performed involving mothers (15–45 years) and their children (0–59 months) who attended CWC at Bilpeila Health Centre, Tamale, Ghana. Socio-demographic data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, maternal depression was measured using Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Screening Scale, and anthropometry was conducted on children following standard procedures. The association between maternal depression and child stunting was examined in logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsPrevalence rates of child stunting and maternal depression were estimated at 16.1 and 27.8 % respectively in Northern Ghana. Mothers with depression when compared with those without depression tended to be younger, be currently unmarried, belong to the poorest household wealth tertile, and were more likely to have low birth weight babies, so these characteristics were adjusted for. In an adjusted multivariate logistic regression model, children of depressed mothers were almost three times more likely to be stunted compared to children of non-depressed mothers (Adjusted OR = 2.48, 95 % CI 1.29–4.77, p = 0.0011).ConclusionsThere is a high prevalence of depression among mothers in Northern Ghana which is associated with child stunting. Further studies are needed to identify the determinants of maternal depression and to examine its association with child stunting to inform nutrition programming.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3558-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Stunting indicates failure to attain genetic potential for height and is a well-documented indicator for poor growth
The majority of the mothers had no education (64.8 %), were married (81.3 %), belonged to Dagomba ethnic group (88.8 %) and practiced Islamic religion (94.3 %). 20.6 % of the study children were low birth weight. 107 out of the 384 mothers had 20 or more scores on the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) screening questionnaire giving a point prevalence of maternal depression of 27.8 %, and 15.9 % had scores corresponding to possible depression
Both the mean anthropometric z-scores for the entire study population and those stratified by age groupings were negative indicating the children in the study were less well-nourished compared to the World Health Organisation (WHO) reference standard population
Summary
Stunting indicates failure to attain genetic potential for height and is a well-documented indicator for poor growth. Stunting indicates a failure to achieve genetic potential for height and is a well-documented indicator for poor growth related to environmental and socio-economic circumstances [1]. Stunting decreased from 48.8 % in 2003 to 33.0 % in 2014 in Northern Region but came down from 32 to 14 % within the same period in a neighbouring region [5, 6]. This slow decline in stunting rate suggests that not all causative factors for malnutrition have been identified and/or are being addressed adequately
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
