The Epidemiology of under-nutrition in Irular tribal pre-school children in Chengam, Tamilnadu, India.

Abstract

Background: Under-nutrition among the children under the age of five renders them vulnerable to recurrent infections, growth retardation, low efficiency in future and even death. Under-nutrition as a global health problem is indeed of serious concern in tribal community which is a vulnerable sector. Various studies have highlighted the burden of under-nutrition nation-wide among different tribal groups in India. This study is aimed to explore the malnutrition among Irular tribal children in Tamilnadu, India. Methods: A Community based cross-sectional survey was designed among the 450 tribal mothers and children in Chengam, Tamilnadu, India during January to December 2021. Mothers were interviewed with semi-structured Tamil questionnaire with socio-demographic details, nutrition, health-seeking behavior, Clinical and anthropometric examination of children. Under-nutrition was defined - weight for age (Z-Score) < 2 SD. Median for age and sex-WHO standards. Data was entered in SPSS. Chi Square and Logistic regression were used for analysis. A p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Prevalence of Under-weight was 44%, stunting-28.4%, wasting-37.8% and Severe Acute Malnutrition-8.7%. Majority were females. Overall, the nutritional status was poor. Advancing age, sex, maternal illiteracy, lack of awareness on nutrition, food insecurity and under-utilization of health services were the major underlying determinants. Conclusion: The burden of under-nutrition is indeed a serious concern in the preschool children in Irular tribes in Tamilnadu, India wherein the socio-cultural, nutritional determinants and health seeking behavior have to addressed at the level of Primary Health care to combat malnutrition and prevent morbidities as well as mortality.

Keywords

• Child, Preschool
• Malnutrition
• Epidemiology
• Indigenous Peoples
• Social Determinants of Health