Prevalence and Factors Associated with Anaemia and Undernutrition Among Children Aged 6-24 Months in Rural Tanzania.

Background: Anaemia and undernutrition remain a significant public health problem in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly affecting under-five children. In Tanzania, the prevalence of anaemia and undernutrition in under-five children is still high; however, less is known about the prevalence and predictors of these conditions in rural areas. Therefore, the current cross-sectional study presents the prevalence and determinants of anaemia and undernutrition among 457 children aged 6-24 months in the Babati and Hanang districts of Tanzania.

Method: Haemoglobin concentration was assessed through capillary blood samples. Anaemia was classified according to WHO 2011 guidelines using a cut-off of <11.0 g/dL for children under five, while the WHO 2006 growth indicators were used to classify the nutritional status (i.e., stunting, wasting and underweight).

Results: The results from this study show that 32%, 32%, 20% and 4% of children aged 6-24 months were anaemic, stunted, underweight and wasted, respectively, while only 33% had an adequate minimum dietary diversity (MDD). In addition, the child's age (13-24 months) was significantly associated with anaemia (AOR: 2.1 95% CI 1.4, 3.1), stunting (AOR:17.4 95% CI 10.3, 29.4) and underweight (AOR: 15.9 95% CI 7.9, 32.0). Moreover, male children were three times more likely to be wasted (AOR: 3.5 95% CI 1.1, 10.9) than their female counterparts. Anaemia and stunting were the most prevalent nutritional disorders among 6-24-month-old children in the Hanang and Babati districts. Moreover, age (13-24 months) was found to be the common predictor for anaemia, stunting and underweight.

Conclusion: The observed association between age and anaemia, as well as undernutrition, suggest that age may be an essential factor when designing nutrition-related programs in similar rural settings.