MALNUTRITION AMONG CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS IN DISTRICT SANGHAR, SINDH, PAKISTAN

Background: Malnutrition is a major public health problem in developing countries resulting in a high mortality rate (~60%) in children less than five years age. The malnutrition also appears to be a wide spread phenomenon in Pakistan. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of malnutrition in children under five in District Sanghar, Pakistan. Material Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in flood affected areas of district Sanghar, Sindh, Pakistan. A total of 511 randomly selected children were assessed for malnutrition by measuring the middle of the Upper Arm Circumference. The status of malnutrition and data of socio-economical conditions were collected by interview through structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. Categorical variables such as socio-economic status, religion and caste were examined using frequency distribution; whereas continuous variables such as age and middle of the Upper Arm Circumference were examined using frequency distribution and descriptive statistics. Results: Out of 511 children, 66.1% (n=338) were affected by malnutrition. Further analysis into the mild (≤13.5 cm), moderate (11.5-12.5 cm) and severe malnutrition ( 11.5 cm) was carried out. The data demonstrated that 43.2% (n=221) children had mild malnutrition, 65 12.7% (n=65) suffered from moderate malnutrition and 10.2% (n=52) had severe malnutrition. Severe malnutrition was significantly higher (p 0.05) in female than male children. Malnutrition was significantly higher in younger age 6-23 months than in older children 24-59 months (p 0.05). Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that overall prevalence and severity of malnutrition in female children is higher than male children