Household food insecurity during the pre‐harvest period is associated with respiratory infections, but not stunting among 6–11 month old infants in rural Ghana

Abstract

Food insecurity is prevalent in rural Ghana, particularly during the months prior to harvest. We examined the association between pre‐harvest food insecurity and infants’ health and nutritional status. The cross‐sectional survey of 333 mothers and their infants aged 6–11 mo living in the Upper Manya Krobo district, included reported household food insecurity (HHFI), anthropometric measurements of infants and mothers, and mothers’ recall of symptoms of infants’ illnesses during the previous seven days. Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to examine how HHFI was associated with stunting and morbidity. Over one‐fifth of households experienced food insecurity in the previous month. Compared to infants in food secure homes, infants living in food insecure homes were twice as likely to experience cough (aOR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.24 to 4.13), and tended to experience a runny nose (aOR = 1.82, 95% CI: 0.98 to 3.39). HHFI was not associated with diarrhea, fever or stunting. Efforts to improve infant's health status may need to include strategies that improve household food security, particularly during the pre‐harvest period. Funded by IDRC Doctoral Research Award 105938–99906075‐038 and McGill University.