Socioeconomic Inequalities in Women’s Undernutrition: Evidence from Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017−2018

Rahman, Mahfuzur, Tariqujjaman, Md., Islam, Md. Rayhanul, Sheikh, Sifat Parveen, Sultana, Nadia, Ahmed, Tahmeed, Ahmed, Sayem ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9499-1500 and Sarma, Haribondhu (2022) 'Socioeconomic Inequalities in Women’s Undernutrition: Evidence from Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017−2018'. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 19, Issue 8, e4698.

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the socioeconomic inequalities in undernutrition among ever-married women of reproductive age. We used nationally representative cross-sectional data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2017−2018. Undernutrition was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 kg/m2. The concentration index (C) was used to measure the socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of women’s undernutrition. A multiple binary logistic regression model was carried out to find out the factors associated with women’s undernutrition. The prevalence of undernutrition among women of 15−49 years was 12%. Among them, 8.5% of women were from urban and 12.7% of women were from rural areas. The prevalence of undernutrition was highest (21.9%) among women who belonged to the adolescent age group (15−19 years). The C showed that undernutrition was more prevalent among the socioeconomically worst-off (poorest) group in Bangladesh (C = −0.26). An adjusted multiple logistic regression model indicated that women less than 19 years of age had higher odds (adjusted odds ratio, AOR: 2.81; 95% confidence interval, CI: 2.23, 3.55) of being undernourished. Women from the poorest wealth quintile (AOR: 3.93, 95% CI: 3.21, 4.81) had higher odds of being undernourished. On the other hand, women who had completed secondary or higher education (AOR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.49, 0.61), married women who were living with their husbands (AOR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.86), and women exposed to mass media (AOR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.79, 0.97) were less likely to be undernourished. Intervention strategies should be developed targeting the poorest to combat undernutrition in women of reproductive age in Bangladesh.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	WA Public Health > WA 30 Socioeconomic factors in public health (General) WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 309 Women's health WD Disorders of Systemic, Metabolic or Environmental Origin, etc > Nutrition Disorders > WD 100 General works WD Disorders of Systemic, Metabolic or Environmental Origin, etc > Nutrition Disorders > WD 105 Deficiency diseases
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Department of Tropical Disease Biology
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084698
SWORD Depositor:	JISC Pubrouter
Depositing User:	JISC Pubrouter
Date Deposited:	30 Aug 2022 08:32
Last Modified:	15 Jun 2023 13:17
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/20278

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