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

Mahfuzur Rahman, Md. Tariqujjaman, Md. Rayhanul Islam, Sifat Parveen Sheikh, Nadia Sultana, Tahmeed Ahmed, Sayem Ahmed and Haribondhu Sarma
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Md. Tariqujjaman: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Md. Rayhanul Islam: Health Systems and Population Studies Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Sifat Parveen Sheikh: Health Systems and Population Studies Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Nadia Sultana: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Tahmeed Ahmed: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Sayem Ahmed: Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G1 28RZ, UK
Haribondhu Sarma: The National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 8, 1-10

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/m 2 . 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.

Keywords: undernutrition; ever-married women; inequalities; adolescent; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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