Determinants of Severe Acute Malnutrition in Children Aged 0-59 Months

Toralta Nodjitoloum Joséphine^1,2*, Souam Nguele S^1,2, Djidita Hagre^1,2, Granga DD¹, Abdelsalam T² and

Brahim Boy O²

Published: September 27, 2022

DOI: 10.55162/MCMS.03.069

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Abstract  

Introduction: Infant malnutrition is endemic in Chad. In 2018 in N’Djamena, the prevalence was 13.5%. This study aimed to identify factors influencing Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in children under 59 months admitted to two Medical Feeding Centre in N’Djamena.
Patients and method: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study of the files of children aged 6 to 59 months admitted for severe acute malnutrition in two feeding centre in N’Djamena, from September 2019 to February 2020. The files were selected randomly, and the study sample size was calculated using the Schwarz formula. Descriptive and analytical analysis was done using Chi-2 and binary logistic regression; a P value < 0.05 is considered statistically significant.
Results: Age 0-24 months (p = 0.001), breastfeeding mode (p = 0.027), early diarrhoea (p = 0.040), age of weaning (p = 0.013) and diversification (p = 0.034), self-medication (p = 0.047), and use of traditional care (p = 0.020) were significantly associated with SAM. The mother’s age and education level (p = 0.029) are also factors in the occurrence of SAM. Environmental hygiene and especially hand washing before feeding the child (p = 0.007) were significant for the occurrence of SAM.
Conclusion: Factors related to the mother, the child and the environment interact closely to lead to SAM in the child. Only concrete and multidisciplinary actions can overcome this problem.

Keywords: Severe Acute Malnutrition; Infant; Medical Feeding Centre; N’Djamena