Study on the association between feeding practices and malnutrition among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in China
Objective To understand the nutritional status of infants and young children aged 6-23 months in China and to explore the association between complementary feeding behavior and infant malnutrition.Methods From 2019 to 2021,a multi-stage stratified random sampling method was used to select infants and young children aged 6-23 months from 14 provinces(autonomous regions,centrally-administered municipalities).A questionnaire survey and on-site health examinations were conducted,and the x2 test and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the association between complementary feeding behavior and infant malnutrition.Results This study included 8 158 infants and young children aged 6-23 months,among whom the rates of stunting,underweight,and wasting were 3.80％,1.53％,and 1.51％,respectively.There were statistically significant differences in the rates of stunting(5.23％vs.2.32％)and low weight(1.95％vs.1.10％)between boys and girls(x2=47.18,9.86,P＜0.01).The stunting rate among rural infants and young children was higher than that among urban infants and young children,with statistically significant differences(4.73％vs.3.04％,x2=15.80,P＜0.01).The rates of stunting and low weight among infants and young children in the southern region were higher than those in the northern region(4.27％vs.3.34％,1.96％vs.1.11％),with statistically significant differences(x2=4.79,9.69,P=0.03,＜0.01).Infants and young children whose mothers had a college education or above had lower rates of stunting,low weight,and wasting than those whose mothers had a high school education or below,with statistically significant differences(x2=13.06,7.06,4.09,P＜0.01,0.01,0.04).Inadequate type(OR=1.44,95％CI:1.09-1.90,P=0.01)and frequency of complementary feeding(OR=1.78,95％CI:1.37-2.32,P＜0.01)were risk factors for stunting among infants and young children aged 6-23 months,and introduction of complementary feeding at ≤5 months was a risk factor for wasting among infants and young children(OR=1.68,95％CI:1.11-2.54,P=0.01).Conclusions The prevalence of stunting in some infants and young children aged 6-23 months in China is still relatively high,and reasonable type,frequency and timing of complementary feeding are closely related to the growth and development of infants and young children.
Infants and young childrenMalnutritionComplementary feedingChild nutrition
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