Abstract
Prevailing prevention measures against morbidity, such as vaccination and safe hygiene practices, vary among local cultural contexts, and little is known about the extent to which these behaviors mitigate poor nutritional status in young children in Southeast Asia. We examined the associations between nutrition status with full immunization coverage, and water, sanitation and hygiene status among children aged 12–59 months in the 2015–2016 Thailand Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (n = 9060). When adjusted for confounding factors, children with incomplete immunization status were more likely to be stunted (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.47; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24–1.75, p < 0.001), wasted (aOR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.31–2.12, p < 0.001), and overweight (aOR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.01–1.51, p < 0.05), whereas children who used unimproved water sources were more likely to be overweight (aOR 2.43, 95% CI: 1.27–4.64, p < 0.01). The further implementation of simple and cost-effective health promotion activities and practices at the household level may be important interventions for healthy child growth and development, particularly under restricted living conditions due to COVID-19.
Highlights
One in four children demonstrated the safe disposal of child feces (25.6% of boys and 26.2% of girls), whereas more than half of the households had a specific place for handwashing with water and soap or other cleansing agents (58.2% of boys and 60.4% of girls)
After adjustment for confounding factors, children in this study who lived in environments with poor hygiene practices were more likely to be malnourished compared with children who had appropriate hygiene practices
This study showed that infants and young children in Thailand with incomplete vaccination coverage before their first birthday were associated with malnutrition
Summary
The importance of nutrition in early life for brain development [2] and long-term health risks, including obesity and diabetes [3], is widely acknowledged and urgently needs to be addressed Various contributing factors such as health status and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are estimated to play a critical role in the improvement in the nutritional status among some African and South Asian countries [4]. These multisectoral efforts are required to address the increasingly complex challenges of alleviating malnutrition. Socioeconomic status, which comprises household characteristics such as drinking water source and Received: 5 November 2021
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