Concurrent Wasting and Stunting among Under-Five Children: A Five-Year Hospital-Based Study in Aden

Abstract

Introduction: Wasting and stunting can co-exist in the same setting and occur within the same child. Both share common risk factors and each increase the risk for developing the other, that is being wasted may increase the risk of subsequent stunting and vice versa. This study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the frequency of stunting among severely wasted hospitalized children. Methods: This is a retrospective study used data generated from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) registries of children 06–59 months old with complicated severe wasting admitted to the Therapeutic Feeding Center’s (TFC) of Al-Sadaka teaching hospital, Aden, Yemen during five years period (2018 through 2022). Results: A total of 1461 severely wasted children were admitted during 2018-2022. Severe stunting was seen in 42.5%, and severe plus moderate stunting were seen in 63.8% of the total severely wasted children. Findings related to age group revealed that more than 90% of the severely wasted children were from 06-24 months and 58.6% of them were also stunted. Conclusions: The study findings provide evidence of co-existence, early in life, of stunting among severely wasted children. Wasting and stunting both need to be addressed simultaneously to reduce associated short- and long-term irreversible consequences.