Household characteristics and anaemia among children under five in Uganda

Abstract

Anaemia is a global public health problem but the burden of anaemia is disproportionately borne among children in developing countries. Anaemia in the early stages of life has serious consequences on the growth and development of the children. The main objective of the study was to assess the relationship between household characteristics and anaemia among children under five in Uganda. The study used 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS). A weighted sample of 3,871 children tested for haemoglobin in the age group 0-59 months. Both descriptive and proportional odds model of ordered logistic regression were used to identify the household factors. Majority (70.5%) of the household used earth sand/dung as material for their floor and more than (86.5%) of the household had improved toilet facility. The predictors of haemoglobin level were number of household member, type toilet facility, household access to water, type of household dwelling floor, region, child’s age in month, sex of the child, mother’s education, wealth index, occupation status, stunting, wasting, children had diarrhoea and months of breastfeeding were found to be statistically related to haemoglobin level or anaemia status. The odds of finding a child with mild, moderate to severe anaemia increased for children who lived in the households with 4-6 members (OR=1.68; 95% CI= 1.17-2.41) as compared to children who lived in smaller households with 1-3 members. The odds of the finding a child with moderate to severe anaemia decreased significantly for children who lived in households with improved toilet facilities (OR=0.74; 95% CI= 0.61-0.90) as compared to children who lived in households with non-improved toilet facilities. Also, mild, moderate to severe anaemia decreased for children who lived in households where the main material for the construction of the floor was cement or tiles (OR=0.79; 95% CI= 0.67-0.92) as compared to those who lived in a household where the floor material was earth, sand or dung. Improving the dwelling places especially the housing conditions is recommended since it would help to eliminate parasitic pests and diseases would reduce possible causes of anaemia among children.