Comparison of Mid-Upper-Arm Circumference and Weight-For-Height Z-Score in Identifying Severe Acute Malnutrition among Children Aged 6–59 Months in South Gondar Zone, Ethiopia

Table 1

Background characteristics of respondents and children aged 6–59 months, South Gondar Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, 2017/18 (n = 1980).

Variable	Response category	# (%)
Respondent age in yrs.	Mean ± SD	29.1 ± 6.6
	15–19	77 (3.9)
	20–29	916 (46.3)
	30–39	805 (40.7)
	40+	182 (9.2)
Child age in months	Mean ± SD	23.2± (9.7)
	6–11	120 (6.1)
	12–23	968 (48.9)
	24–35	627 (31.7)
	36–47	182 (89.2)
	48–60	83 (4.2)
Child sex	Male	1063 (53.7)
	Female	917 (46.3)
Respondent education status	No formal	1616 (81.6)
	Formal	364 (18.4)
Respondent occupation	Farming	1730 (87.4)
	Other than farming	250 (12.6)
HH family size	≥5	1088 (54.9)
	<5	892 (45.1)
HH food insecure	No	1481 (74.8
	Yes	499 (25.2)
Water source improved	Yes	1083 (54.7)
	No	897 (45.3)
Latrine (pit with or without cover)	Yes	1714 (86.6)
	No	266 (13.4)
Hand washing practice	Poor	1077 (54.4)
	Good	903 (45.6)
Child feces disposal (safe)	Yes	1127 (56.9)
	No	853 (43.1)
BF initiation within 1 hr of birth (n = 1977)	Yes	1283 (64.9)
	No	694 (35.1)
The practice of prelacteal feeding	Yes	107 (5.4)
	No	1873 (94.6)
Vitamin A supplementation in the past 6 months	Yes	1393 (70.4)
	No	587 (29.6)
History of illness in the past 2 wks.	Yes	346 (17.5)
	No	1634 (82.5)
Preparing food separately for children	Yes	1150 (58.1)
	No	830 (41.9)
Another family member on SAM treatment	Yes	42 (2.1)
	No	1938 (97.9)