Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.

Although the prevalence of childhood stunting has reduced in Bangladesh over time, it is still considered a major public health issue. While research has determined the risk factors for childhood stunting in Bangladesh, the factors that lead to reductions in stunting have received very little attent...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Satyajit Kundu, Richard Gyan Aboagye, Syed Sharaf Ahmed Chowdhury, Md Hasan Al Banna, Md Ashfikur Rahman, Rakhi Dey, Faruk Ahmed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004890
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850096481270235136
author Satyajit Kundu
Richard Gyan Aboagye
Syed Sharaf Ahmed Chowdhury
Md Hasan Al Banna
Md Ashfikur Rahman
Rakhi Dey
Faruk Ahmed
author_facet Satyajit Kundu
Richard Gyan Aboagye
Syed Sharaf Ahmed Chowdhury
Md Hasan Al Banna
Md Ashfikur Rahman
Rakhi Dey
Faruk Ahmed
author_sort Satyajit Kundu
collection DOAJ
description Although the prevalence of childhood stunting has reduced in Bangladesh over time, it is still considered a major public health issue. While research has determined the risk factors for childhood stunting in Bangladesh, the factors that lead to reductions in stunting have received very little attention. Hence, we examined the factors contributing to the changes in childhood stunting over time in Bangladesh using a decomposition approach. In this study, data on childhood stunting of 41,013 under-5 children (U5C) were utilized from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2012 and 2019, which are nation-wide cross-sectional surveys. Mixed-effect logistic regression analysis was adopted to identify the predictors of childhood stunting, and multivariate decomposition analysis was used to examine the factors contributing to the changes in childhood stunting over time. The prevalence of stunting declined from 41.9% in 2012 to 28.0% in 2019. Regression analysis showed that lower education of household head and mothers, older children, lower wealth status of households, unimproved sanitation facilities, and being urban residents were significant predictors of childhood stunting. The decomposition analysis revealed that around 86% of the overall decline in stunting resulted from the differences in the effect of independent variables. Furthermore, children's age, maternal education, place of residence, and regions were significant factors contributing to the decline in childhood stunting prevalence over time based on both compositional and behavioral changes in these factors. Although childhood stunting has decreased in Bangladesh over time, the current prevalence remains high. Over 86% of the overall decline in stunting was due to the differences in the effect of independent variables. Interventions targeting children of mothers with lower education, infants, rural children, and children from households with lower wealth status and unimproved sanitation facilities may help to reduce the stunting prevalence in Bangladesh.
format Article
id doaj-art-2e80edfbd7f542ba99f87bc756892184
institution DOAJ
issn 2767-3375
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLOS Global Public Health
spelling doaj-art-2e80edfbd7f542ba99f87bc7568921842025-08-20T02:41:14ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752025-01-0157e000489010.1371/journal.pgph.0004890Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.Satyajit KunduRichard Gyan AboagyeSyed Sharaf Ahmed ChowdhuryMd Hasan Al BannaMd Ashfikur RahmanRakhi DeyFaruk AhmedAlthough the prevalence of childhood stunting has reduced in Bangladesh over time, it is still considered a major public health issue. While research has determined the risk factors for childhood stunting in Bangladesh, the factors that lead to reductions in stunting have received very little attention. Hence, we examined the factors contributing to the changes in childhood stunting over time in Bangladesh using a decomposition approach. In this study, data on childhood stunting of 41,013 under-5 children (U5C) were utilized from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2012 and 2019, which are nation-wide cross-sectional surveys. Mixed-effect logistic regression analysis was adopted to identify the predictors of childhood stunting, and multivariate decomposition analysis was used to examine the factors contributing to the changes in childhood stunting over time. The prevalence of stunting declined from 41.9% in 2012 to 28.0% in 2019. Regression analysis showed that lower education of household head and mothers, older children, lower wealth status of households, unimproved sanitation facilities, and being urban residents were significant predictors of childhood stunting. The decomposition analysis revealed that around 86% of the overall decline in stunting resulted from the differences in the effect of independent variables. Furthermore, children's age, maternal education, place of residence, and regions were significant factors contributing to the decline in childhood stunting prevalence over time based on both compositional and behavioral changes in these factors. Although childhood stunting has decreased in Bangladesh over time, the current prevalence remains high. Over 86% of the overall decline in stunting was due to the differences in the effect of independent variables. Interventions targeting children of mothers with lower education, infants, rural children, and children from households with lower wealth status and unimproved sanitation facilities may help to reduce the stunting prevalence in Bangladesh.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004890
spellingShingle Satyajit Kundu
Richard Gyan Aboagye
Syed Sharaf Ahmed Chowdhury
Md Hasan Al Banna
Md Ashfikur Rahman
Rakhi Dey
Faruk Ahmed
Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.
PLOS Global Public Health
title Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.
title_full Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.
title_fullStr Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.
title_full_unstemmed Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.
title_short Trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in Bangladesh from 2012 to 2019: A multivariate decomposition modelling.
title_sort trends and factors contributing to changes in childhood stunting in bangladesh from 2012 to 2019 a multivariate decomposition modelling
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004890
work_keys_str_mv AT satyajitkundu trendsandfactorscontributingtochangesinchildhoodstuntinginbangladeshfrom2012to2019amultivariatedecompositionmodelling
AT richardgyanaboagye trendsandfactorscontributingtochangesinchildhoodstuntinginbangladeshfrom2012to2019amultivariatedecompositionmodelling
AT syedsharafahmedchowdhury trendsandfactorscontributingtochangesinchildhoodstuntinginbangladeshfrom2012to2019amultivariatedecompositionmodelling
AT mdhasanalbanna trendsandfactorscontributingtochangesinchildhoodstuntinginbangladeshfrom2012to2019amultivariatedecompositionmodelling
AT mdashfikurrahman trendsandfactorscontributingtochangesinchildhoodstuntinginbangladeshfrom2012to2019amultivariatedecompositionmodelling
AT rakhidey trendsandfactorscontributingtochangesinchildhoodstuntinginbangladeshfrom2012to2019amultivariatedecompositionmodelling
AT farukahmed trendsandfactorscontributingtochangesinchildhoodstuntinginbangladeshfrom2012to2019amultivariatedecompositionmodelling