Characteristics of stunting children and correlation between infectious diseases and severity of stunting at Wangaya General Hospital

Abstract

Background: With a prevalence of 24.4% in 2021, stunting is one of the primary nutritional issues that still affects Indonesian children under five. A child is said to be stunted if they are shorter than other kids their age because of poor nutrition or recurrent illnesses throughout the first 1000 days of life. The purpose of this study is to determine the characteristics of stunting at Wangaya General Hospital as well as the connection between the severity of stunting and infections. Methods: This is an analytical observational study with a cross-sectional approach, conducted from October to November 2024 at Wangaya Regional General Hospital. The study subjects are stunted patients aged 6-59 months who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria from January 2022 to October 2024. Bivariate analysis is also conducted using the contingency coefficient correlation test. Results: Of 74 children with stunting, 17 with comorbid infectious diseases consist of 3 children with stunted and 14 children with severely stunted. The correlation test with the contingency coefficient test is significant with a p-value <0.001 and r-value = 0.547. Conclusion: There is a correlation between infectious diseases with the severity of stunting in children with moderate correlation strength that is clinically and statistically significant