Malnutrition among rural and urban children in Lesotho: related hazard and survival probabilities: research

The relationship between the survival time of children and several variables that affect the survival and nutritional status of children under the age of five years in the Maseru District of Lesotho was investigated. Kaplan-Meier survival probabilities, lifetables and the extended Cox proportional hazards model were used to identify factors that strongly affect malnutrition among children and survival up to the age of five. The predictor variables used for data analysis were: residential area, the literacy status of the mother, the income status of the mother, the immunisation status of the child, acute respiratory infectious diseases, diarrhoeal diseases, tuberculosis, the extent of malnutrition suffered by the child, height, weight, height for age, weight for height, weight for age and the overall health condition of the child. Results from the study showed that the extent of malnutrition was strongly related to the residential area, the literacy status of the mother and monthly household income. Die verhouding tussen die oorlewingstyd van kinders en verskeie veranderlikes wat die oorlewings- en voedingstatus van kinders onder die ouderdom van vyf jaar affekteer is in die Maseru-distrik in Lesotho nagevors. Kaplan-Meier oorlewingswaarskynlikhede, lewenstabelle en die uitgebreide Cox proporsionele risikomodel is gebruik om die faktore te identifiseer wat wanvoeding en die oorlewing van kinders tot die ouderdom van vyf jaar die meeste beïnvloed. Die voorspellingsveranderlikes wat gebruik is vir data-analises was: die woongebied, die geletterdheid van die moeder, die inkomstestatus van die moeder, die immuniseringstatus van die kind, akute aansteeklike asemhalingsiektes, diarreeverwante siektes, tuberkulose, die graad van wanvoeding van die kind, lengte in verhouding tot ouderdom, gewig in verhouding tot lengte, gewig in verhouding tot ouderdom en die algehele gesondheidstand van die kind. Resultate van die studie toon aan dat die omvang van wanvoeding grotendeels geaffekteer word deur die woongebied, die geletterdheid van die moeder en die maandelikse huishoudelike inkomste. (Health SA Gesondheid: interdisciplinary research journal: 2003 8(3): 98-109