Household-level double burden of malnutrition in Ethiopia: a comparison of Addis Ababa and the rural district of Kersa.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of and factors associated with different forms of household-level double burden of malnutrition (DBM) in Ethiopia.

Design: We defined DBM using anthropometric measures for adult overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), child stunting (height-for-age Z-score <-2 sd) and overweight (weight-for-height Z-score ≥2 sd). We considered sixteen biological, environmental, behavioural and socio-demographic factors. Their association with DBM forms was assessed using generalised linear models.

Setting: We used data from two cross-sectional studies in an urban (Addis Ababa, January-February 2018), and rural setting (Kersa District, June-September 2019).

Participants: Five hundred ninety-two urban and 862 rural households with an adult man, adult woman and child <5 years.

Results: In Addis Ababa, overweight adult and stunted child was the most prevalent DBM form (9 % (95 % CI 7, 12)). Duration of residence in Addis Ababa (adjusted OR (aOR) 1·03 (95 % CI 1·00, 1·06)), Orthodox Christianity (aOR 1·97 (95 % CI 1·01, 3·85)) and household size (aOR 1·24 (95 % CI 1·01, 1·54)) were associated factors. In Kersa, concurrent child overweight and stunting was the most prevalent DBM form (11 % (95 % CI 9, 14)). Housing quality (aOR 0·33 (95 % CI 0·20, 0·53)), household wealth (aOR 1·92 (95 % CI 1·18, 3·11) and sanitation (aOR 2·08 (95 % CI 1·07, 4·04)) were associated factors. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, only housing quality remained a significant factor.

Conclusions: DBM prevalence was low among urban and rural Ethiopian households. Environmental, socio-economic and demographic factors emerged as potential associated factors. However, we observed no common associated factors among urban and rural households.