Malnutrition among 6–59-Month-Old Children at District 2 Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Prevalence and Associated Factors

Table 3

The association between underweight status and participants’ characteristics (n=225).

	Underweight		p-value
	Yes (n=19)	No (n=206)
Characteristics of children
Gender
Female	8(7.3)	101(92.7)
Male	11(9.5)	105(90.6)	0.563
Age (months)
6 - 11	4(9.8)	37(90.2)
12 - 23	5(8.1)	57(91.9)	0.873
24 - 35	5(10.6)	42(89.4)
36 - 59	5(6.7)	70(93.3)
Weight at birth
Low (< 2500g)	3(20.0)	12(80.0)
Normal (≥ 2500 g)	16(7.6)	194(92.4)	0.121
Breastfeeding in the first hour after birth
Yes	10(5.1)	189(94.9)	<0.001
No	9(34.6)	17(65.4)
Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months
Yes	5(6.5)	72(93.5)	0.448
No	14(9.5)	134(90.5)
Age of starting complementary foods (n=219)
< 6 months	17(8.3)	188(91.7)	1.00
≥6 months	1(7.1)	13(92.7)
Getting full vaccination
Yes	13(6.5)	188(93.5)	<0.05
No	6(25.0)	18(75.0)
Anemia (n=124) missing 101
Yes	5(13.2)	33(86.8)	0.057
No	3(3.5)	83(96.5)
Acute respiratory infections
Yes	15(8.2)	168(91.8)	0.761
No	4(9.5)	38(90.5)
Diarrhea
Yes	5(22.7)	17(77.3)	<0.05
No	14(6.9)	189(93.1)
Duration of this disease (days)	3(2-7)	2(2-3)	<0.05
Characteristics of mothers
Age (years)
≥ 18 and <25	4(11.4)	31(88.6)
≥ 25 and <35	14(9.3)	137(90.7)	0.320
≥ 35	1(2.6)	38(97.4)
Occupation
Housewife	4(10.3)	35(89.7)	0.601
Government officer/office worker	6(10.9)	49(89.1)
Seller	9(6.9)	122(93.1)
Education
Primary school	7(6.9)	94(93.1)	0.188
Secondary school	9(8.1)	102(91.9)
High school and higher	3(23.1)	10(76.9)
Gross household income
Poor, near-poor households	2(10.5)	17(89.5)
Moderate	17(8.3)	189(91.7)	0.067
Number of children in household
1	11(12.6)	76(87.4)
2	6(5.4)	105(94.6)	0.188
≥ 3	2(7.4)	25(92.6)

Chi-square and Fisher exact tests used for comparison with and without underweight groups.