Association of Maternal and Child Nutritional Status in Brazil: A Population Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Although child undernutrition and stunting has been decreasing worldwide while obesity rates increase, these extreme conditions might coexist in families from low- and middle-income countries. We examined the association between maternal and child anthropometric indicators using a population representative sample. Methods: 4,258 non-pregnant women and their children,60 months who participated in the 2006 Brazilian Demographic Health Survey. We compared the distributions of two nutritional indexes of children, height-for-age (HAZ) and body mass index-for age (BAZ) z-scores, by categories of maternal height, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC). Adjusted mean differences and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) were estimated from linear regression, taking into account the complex survey design. We also examined the associations of maternal anthropometry with the prevalence of child stunting (HAZ,22) and overweight/obesity (BAZ.2). Results: HAZ was positively associated with maternal height and WC in a linear fashion. After adjustment, for sociodemographic characteristics, children whose mothers ’ height was,145 cm had 1.2 lower HAZ than children whose mothers were $160 cm tall (p-trend,0.0001). After further adjustment for maternal height and maternal BMI, children of mothers with a waist circumference $88 cm had 0.3 higher HAZ than those of mothers with WC,80 cm (p-trend,0.01). Adjusted prevalence ratios and 95 % CI for stunting by the categories of maternal height (,145, 145–149, 150–154, 155–15