Is stunting in children under five associated with the state of vegetation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Secondary analysis of Demographic Health Survey data and the satellite-derived leaf area index.
CI, Confidence Interval
DHA, Demographic and Health Survey
DRC, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
HAZ, Height-for-Age Z-score
LAI, Leaf Area Index
Leaf area index
Nutrition
OR, Odds Ration
Stunting
Vegetation
Journal
Heliyon
ISSN: 2405-8440
Titre abrégé: Heliyon
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101672560
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Feb 2023
Feb 2023
Historique:
received:
09
01
2022
revised:
26
01
2023
accepted:
30
01
2023
entrez:
23
2
2023
pubmed:
24
2
2023
medline:
24
2
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The prevalence of stunting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the highest globally. However, only a few studies have attempted to measure the association between stunting and vegetation, which is an important food source. The leaf area index (LAI) is an excellent measure for the vegetation state. This paper intended to measure the association between the LAI and stunting among children under five years of age in the DRC. Its aim was to better understand the boundary conditions of stunting and explore potential links to climate and environmental change. This paper adopts a secondary data analysis approach. We used data on 5241 children from the DRC Demographic Health Survey (DHS) 2013-2014, which was collected from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. We used the satellite-derived LAI as a measure for the state of vegetation and created a 10-km buffer to extract each DHS cluster centroid's corresponding mean leaf-area value. We used a generalised mixed-effect logistic regression to measure the association between LAI and stunting, adjusting the model for mother's education, occupation and birth interval, as well as child's age and national wealth quintile. A height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) was calculated and classified according to WHO guidelines. Children in communities surrounded by high LAI values have lower odds of being stunted (OR [odds ratio] = 0.63; 95% CI [confidence interval] = 0.47-0.86) than those exposed to low LAI values. The association still holds when the exposure is analysed as a continuous variable (OR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.74-0.95).When stratified in rural and urban areas, a significant association was only observed in rural areas (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.39-0.81), but not in urban areas (OR = 0.9; 95% CI = 0.5-0.5). Furthermore, the study showed that these associations were robust to LAI buffer variations under 25 km. Good vegetation conditions have a protective effect against stunting in children under five years of age. Further advanced study designs are needed to confirm these findings.
Sections du résumé
Background
UNASSIGNED
The prevalence of stunting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the highest globally. However, only a few studies have attempted to measure the association between stunting and vegetation, which is an important food source. The leaf area index (LAI) is an excellent measure for the vegetation state.
Objective
UNASSIGNED
This paper intended to measure the association between the LAI and stunting among children under five years of age in the DRC. Its aim was to better understand the boundary conditions of stunting and explore potential links to climate and environmental change.
Methods
UNASSIGNED
This paper adopts a secondary data analysis approach. We used data on 5241 children from the DRC Demographic Health Survey (DHS) 2013-2014, which was collected from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. We used the satellite-derived LAI as a measure for the state of vegetation and created a 10-km buffer to extract each DHS cluster centroid's corresponding mean leaf-area value. We used a generalised mixed-effect logistic regression to measure the association between LAI and stunting, adjusting the model for mother's education, occupation and birth interval, as well as child's age and national wealth quintile. A height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) was calculated and classified according to WHO guidelines.
Results
UNASSIGNED
Children in communities surrounded by high LAI values have lower odds of being stunted (OR [odds ratio] = 0.63; 95% CI [confidence interval] = 0.47-0.86) than those exposed to low LAI values. The association still holds when the exposure is analysed as a continuous variable (OR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.74-0.95).When stratified in rural and urban areas, a significant association was only observed in rural areas (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.39-0.81), but not in urban areas (OR = 0.9; 95% CI = 0.5-0.5). Furthermore, the study showed that these associations were robust to LAI buffer variations under 25 km.
Conclusions
UNASSIGNED
Good vegetation conditions have a protective effect against stunting in children under five years of age. Further advanced study designs are needed to confirm these findings.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36820029
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13453
pii: S2405-8440(23)00660-6
pmc: PMC9937978
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
e13453Informations de copyright
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
The authors declare no competing interests.
Références
World Dev. 2014 Dec;64(Suppl 1):S12-S28
pubmed: 32405139
Lancet. 2013 Aug 3;382(9890):372-375
pubmed: 23746778
Public Health Nutr. 2015 Dec;18(17):3125-33
pubmed: 26091444
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Dec 6;108(49):19653-6
pubmed: 22106297
Lancet. 2015 Nov 14;386(10007):1973-2028
pubmed: 26188744
BMC Public Health. 2017 Aug 1;18(1):74
pubmed: 28764669
Sci Adv. 2018 Aug 15;4(8):eaat2853
pubmed: 30116783
J Public Health (Oxf). 2019 Dec 20;41(4):772-780
pubmed: 30423144
Sensors (Basel). 2020 Feb 27;20(5):
pubmed: 32120958
Health Place. 2018 May;51:78-88
pubmed: 29550735
Popul Environ. 2014;36:48-72
pubmed: 25132700
J Nutr Educ Behav. 2022 Jan;54(1):65-83
pubmed: 35000681
Food Sci Nutr. 2016 May 20;5(2):243-254
pubmed: 28265359
Int Health. 2018 May 1;10(3):157-162
pubmed: 29579204
Ann Glob Health. 2018 Nov 05;84(4):551-562
pubmed: 30779500
Matern Child Nutr. 2011 Oct;7 Suppl 3:5-18
pubmed: 21929633
Front Sustain Food Syst. 2020 Apr;4:
pubmed: 33912810
Public Health Nutr. 2016 Dec;19(17):3185-3196
pubmed: 27265306