Undernutrition and Its Correlates among Children of 3–9 Years of Age Residing in Slum Areas of Bhubaneswar, India
Table 2
Univariate model showing association between wasting among slum children and various individual and sociodemographic characteristics.
Independent variable
Wasting
Total (%)
“” value*
Absent
Present
Number (%)
Number (%)
Age (in years) of child
3–6
132 (82.5)
28 (17.5)
160 (64.3)
0.118
6–9
59 (66.3)
30 (33.7)
89 (35.7)
Gender of child
Female
135 (79.4)
35 (20.6)
170 (68.3)
0.117
Male
56 (70.9)
23 (29.1)
79 (31.7)
Birth order of child
First
74 (89.2)
09 (10.8)
83 (33.3)
0.010
Second
87 (70.2)
37 (29.8)
124 (49.8)
Third
30 (71.4)
12 (28.6)
42 (16.9)
Initiation of breastfeeding
Within 1 hr
89 (82.4)
19 (17.6)
108 (43.4)
0.083
Between 1 and 24 hrs
83 (75.5)
27 (24.5)
110 (44.2)
After 24 hrs
19 (61.3)
12 (38.7)
31 (12.4)
Mother’s age (in years) at birth of child
≤20
57 (81.4)
13 (18.6)
70 (28.1)
0.231
21–30
108 (74)
38 (26)
146 (58.6)
≥30
26 (78.8)
07 (21.2)
33 (13.3)
Mother’s education
Illiterate
48 (68.6)
22 (31.4)
70 (28.1)
0.056
Primary
54 (73.0)
20 (27.0)
74 (29.7)
Middle
63 (82.9)
13 (17.1)
76 (30.5)
High school and above
26 (89.7)
03 (10.3)
29 (11.7)
Father’s education
Illiterate
51 (67.1)
25 (32.9)
76 (30.5)
0.071
Primary
45 (70.3)
19 (29.7)
64 (25.7)
Middle
58 (87.9)
08 (12.1)
66 (26.5)
High school and above
37 (86.0)
06 (14.0)
43 (17.3)
Type of familya
Joint
25 (80.6)
06 (19.4)
31 (12.4)
0.573
Nuclear
166 (76.1)
52 (23.9)
218 (87.6)
Per capita monthly incomeb
<Rs. 2000
29 (65.9)
15 (34.1)
44 (17.7)
0.262
Rs. 2000–Rs. 4000
104 (78.2)
29 (21.8)
133 (53.4)
≥Rs. 4000
56 (80.6)
14 (19.4)
72 (28.9)
Overcrowding
Absent
58 (80.6)
14 (19.4)
72 (28.9)
0.072
Present
133 (75.1)
44 (24.9)
177 (71.1)
Toilet facility
Absent
61 (75.3)
20 (24.7)
81 (32.5)
0.694
Present
130 (77.4)
38 (22.6)
168 (67.5)
Drinking water storage
Satisfactory
68 (86.1)
11 (13.9)
79 (31.7)
0.016
Unsatisfactory
123 (72.4)
47 (27.6)
170 (68.3)
Significance is based on adjusted chi-square statistic.
aJoint family consists of two or more married couples and their children living together in the same household, all the men being related by blood of patrilineal descent. Nuclear family consists of the married couple and their dependent children, residing in the same household.
bOne US dollar is equivalent to Rs. 60 (approximately).
