Risk Factors Associated with the Incidence of Stunting in Toddlers Aged 6-24 Months

Abstract

The high stunting in toddlers aged 6-24 months is due to low access to quality drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene. Therefore, the risk of toddlers suffering from infectious diseases is still high, which disrupts the intake of nutrients needed for toddler growth. North Lampung Regency is one of the districts with a priority for tackling stunting because it still has a stunting prevalence of 24.7%. This study aims to determine risk factors associated with stunting, using a case-control design, a total sample of 768 (384 cases, 384 controls) toddlers 6-24 months in 39 villages from eight sub-districts. The study found that a history of exclusive breastfeeding is associated with stunting, OR=1,90 (95%CI: 1,36-2,65. History of sick children is related to the stunting at risk with OR=2,48 (95%CI: 1,70-3,62). Family income <IDR. 2.000.000 are at risk of suffering from stunting at 1,70 (95%CI: 1,20-2,42) times. Individuals with access to unimproved drinking water were at risk of 3.20 (95%CI: 2,08-4,92) times compared to those with access to safe essential drinking water. This study concluded that exclusive breastfeeding, family income, drinking water access, sanitation access, and hygiene access are risk factors for stunting. Prevention and control of stunting require increasing access to safe drinking water sources, covering villages with ODF predicates, and growing mothers' knowledge about the importance of washing hands before feeding their toddlers through continuous counseling activities.