Chronic Child Malnutrition in Ecuador and Associated Risk Factors

Abstract

Chronic child malnutrition worldwide is responsible for 45% of deaths in children under 5 years of age. In Ecuador, 27.2% of children suffer from any type of malnutrition. This problem has alarming consequences since it affects the country's productivity and has an impact throughout the individual's life, since at this stage the greatest impact is suffered by the child's brain, in which irreversible metabolic and structural alterations occur. However, child malnutrition is not only a problem of lack of food, it is a deeper social conflict that must be considered when providing solutions. A nationally representative sample of children under 5 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018 (ENSANUT) was used. A binary logistic linear regression model was used where Odds Ratio (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated for each of the independent variables. Our results reveal that family income reduces the probability of child malnutrition by 2.03 times. In addition, micronutrient intake during 6 months to 2 years of age reduces the probability of child malnutrition by 2.32 times (OR= -1.91 ; -3.02). This result is statistically significant (p<0.05). On the other hand, unemployment, being out of the labor force (in the mother) having a greater number of children at home, working more hours and being a migrant mother also positively predicts the probability of suffering from chronic child malnutrition.  Malnutrition is one of the main health problems in Ecuador. It affects a significant percentage of the population and, associated with other factors, is responsible for most of the avoidable mortality and considerable damage to children's health. For this reason, strategies should include epidemiological surveillance, promotion.