Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with childhood anthropometry, but little is known about how it is associated with tissue growth and body composition. To investigate this, we looked at components of SES at birth with growth in early and mid‐childhood, and body composition in a longitudinal study in Nepal. The exposure variables (material assets, land ownership, and maternal education) were quantified from questionnaire data before birth. Anthropometry data at birth, 2.5 and 8.5 years, were normalized using WHO reference ranges and conditional growth calculated. Associations with child growth and body composition were explored using multiple regression analysis. Complete anthropometry data were available for 793 children. There was a positive association between SES and height‐for‐age and weight‐for‐age, and a reduction in odds of stunting and underweight for each increase in rank of SES variable. Associations tended to be significant when moving from the lower to the upper asset score, from none to secondary education, and no land to >30 dhur (~500 m2). The strongest associations were for maternal secondary education, showing an increase of 0.6–0.7 z scores in height‐for‐age and weight‐for‐age at 2.5 and 8.5 years and 0.3 kg/m2 in fat and lean mass compared to no education. There was a positive association with conditional growth in the highest asset score group and secondary maternal education, and generally no association with land ownership. Our results show that SES at birth is important for the growth of children, with a greater association with fat mass. The greatest influence was maternal secondary education.
Highlights
IntroductionSocioeconomic status (SES) is a complex concept that incorporates social status (including social position, agency, and capital) and wealth (Conger & Donnellan, 2007)
Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with nutritional status in children in low‐ and middle‐income countries (Barros et al, 2006; Fernald, Kariger, Hidrobo, & Gertler, 2012; Menezes et al, 2011; MeshramAbbreviations: CH, conditional height (CH); CRW, conditional relative weight; HAZ, height‐for‐age z‐score; SES, socioeconomic status; WAZ, weight‐for‐age z‐score et al, 2012), but its associations with somatic growth patterns in different periods of childhood is less well understood.SES is a complex concept that incorporates social status and wealth (Conger & Donnellan, 2007)
Using data from a longitudinal study in the south of Nepal, we aimed to examine the potential associations with child growth outcomes of three different distal components of SES, namely, household material assets, maternal education, and land ownership, all measured before birth
Summary
SES is a complex concept that incorporates social status (including social position, agency, and capital) and wealth (Conger & Donnellan, 2007). Lower SES has been found to be associated with worse health outcomes in childhood (Spencer, Thanh, & Louise, 2013), lower birth weight A lower SES early in life has been associated with a lower attained adult height (Black et al, 2008), lower educational achievement, and reduced income (Fernald et al, 2012), all of which may help perpetuate intergenerational cycles of malnutrition and poverty (Conger & Donnellan, 2007; Victora et al, 2008)
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