Nutritional Status and Its Determinants among Fulani Children Aged 6-24 Months in a Rural Community of Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria
Mustapha Abdulsalam Danimoh *
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria and Department of Community Medicine, Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Nigeria.
Suleiman Hadeja Idris
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Hussaini Garba Dikko
Department of Statistics, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Abdulhakeem Abayo Olorukooba
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Amina Mohammed
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria and Department of Community Medicine, Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Nigeria.
Olawepo Olatayo Ayodeji
Maryland Global Initiative Corporation, Abuja, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Nutritional status of young children is an important measure of their health status, growth, and development. There is a knowledge gap in the nutritional status of Fulani children aged 6 – 24 months in Nigeria. Our study, therefore, aims to assess the nutritional status of Fulani children (6 – 24 months old) and its determinants.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 209 children were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Anthropometric measurements were obtained from the children and converted to Z-scores to determine nutritional status. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Bivariate analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between respondents’ socio-demographic factors and nutritional status. Statistical significance was determined at a p-value of ≤0.05.
Results: A majority (62.2%) of the children were aged 6 – 12 months. The prevalence’s of stunting, wasting and underweight were 44.9%, 9.6% and 16.3% respectively. A higher proportion (55.3%) of male children were stunted compared to females. Most (51.1%) of the children aged 6 – 12 months were stunted compared to those aged 13 -24 months. There was a statistically significant association between stunting and age (p = 0.004). Children aged 6 -12 months (OR = 2.5, CI: 1.3 – 4.8) were at higher risk of developing stunting compared to those aged 13 – 24 months.
Conclusion and Recommendation: The proportion of children that were stunted and those that were underweight was high. Therefore, there is a need for health authorities to ensure continuous growth monitoring practices of young children among the Fulani people to detect growth failure early in life and institute interventions.
Keywords: Nutritional status, stunting, wasting, underweight, anthropometry, Z-scores, Fulani, Makarfi, Kaduna, Nigeria