Association between Maternal-related Factors and Stunting in Children Aged 6-59 Months in Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Stunting prevails as an issue, influencing children under the age of 5 in Malaysia where the prevalence remained at 21.2% in 2023. Stunning stems from maternal-related determinants such as birth spacing, maternal age, maternal nutrition, maternal illness, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preterm birth, and breastfeeding. Despite the research, discoveries regarding these factors were not sufficient, particularly in Selangor. Hence, this study aims to observe the maternal-related factors and stunting in children between 6-59 months in Selangor. This study was conducted from March to May 2024, employing a cross-sectional design at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Hospital, UPM (HSAAS UPM), recruiting 294 eligible mother-child pairs who consented to part-take, selected via purposive sampling. Data procurement was through an interview and medical-record checking. IBM SPSS ver 25.0. was utilized to conduct a bivariate chi-square test with significance of association with stunting indicated at p<0.05, including birth order (p=0.004), birth spacing (p<0.001), exclusive breast feeding (EBF) (p=0.049), maternal age (p=0.037), and anemia (p=0.002). The significant parameters were further analyzed using multiple logistic regression, showing that anemia (OR= 2.015; 95% CI= 1.141-3.557), shorter interbirth interval (OR= 0.717; 95% CI= 0.581-0.884), older child age (OR= 1.485; 95% CI= 1.087-2.029), and low EBF (OR= 0.552; 95% CI= 0.312-0.975) could increase the risk of stunting. The limitations of this study should be addressed in future studies to optimize validity and reliability.