Malnutrition and associated factors among quilombola children under 60 months of age in two cities of the state of Maranhão, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition in children under 60 months of age living in quilombo remnant communities of two municipalities in the state of Maranhão and their associated factors. Methods: This is a cross-sec-tional study conducted with a sample of 372 children in August 2015. Socioeconomic, demograph-ic, maternal and child information were collected. The anthropometry followed the one proposed by the World Health Organization. Height-for-age and weight-for-height rates were calculated using Anthro software version 3.2.2. Poisson regression was performed with a robust variance for the association of malnutrition with the studied vari-ables, using Stata software version 14.0. Results: Child malnutrition was high for height-for-age (15.1%) and weight-for-height (7%). Children whose mothers had a short height (< 1.497 m) were more likely to have height-for-age deficits (p < 0.05). No variables were statistically associated with low weight-for-height. Conclusion: Child malnutrition persists as a public health problem in vulnerable regions, and maternal factors such as low maternal height may explain the short stat-ure of the children. The need for actions to address this nutritional deviation is pointed out.