Undernutrition and its determinants among under-five children in a tribal community of Meghalaya.

Background And Objectives: Malnutrition among under-five children is a rampant and major public health problem in developing countries. The paucity of studies on undernutrition among tribals made it imperative to determine the prevalence and the factors associated with undernutrition among the tribal under-five children.

Materials And Methods: A community-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 196 under-five children residing in the village under the rural field practice area of North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Meghalaya. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire, and burden of food insecurity was collected using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale Survey Module (FIES-SM). Anthropometric measurements, such as height, weight, and mid-upper arm circumference, were measured for all the children, and Z-scores were calculated for weight for age, height for age, and weight for height.

Results: Of the 196 children, the mean age of the children was 36.7 (15.3) months. The prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting was 9.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 5.7%-14.3%), 28.6% (95% CI: 22.5%-35.5%), and 6.1% (95% CI: 3.3%-10.7%), respectively. There was a significant association for girls, birth weight, and age of the mother during first childbirth and immunization status with underweight. Similarly, there was a significant association for girls with wasting and education of the mother and birth weight with stunting.

Conclusion And Recommendations: The prevalence of underweight wasting and stunting was lesser with an observable enhancement in the nutritional status of the children; however, the undernutrition status is still alarming, which warrants health and nutritional education along with behavioral change communication.