Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Community Medicine

Background: Malnutrition remains a serious problem to child survival and growth in under-developed countries and one of the main cause of their morbidity and mortality. Of note Egypt is one of the countries with a great burden of malnutrition, however, there's a paucity of data on malnutrition and related factors in children in rural settings. Aim: To study the prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children and its related factors to improve child health and nutritional status, and thus raise the awareness of such a problem and its implications. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional community-based study conducted on 320 mother-child pairs through household visits in Nahia; a rural village in Giza governorate. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from mothers of children regarding socio-demographic, nutrition care and knowledge, and feeding pattern. For all children, anthropometric measurements (weight and height) were obtained. HB level was measured in the laboratory of PHC unit. Results: The study showed the mean age of children to be 35.98 ± 15.8 months, and the mean mothers' age was 28±4.6 years.The growth curves were shifted to the left, where WAZ (-0.53 ± 1.3), HAZ (-0.56 ±1.2) and WHZ (-0.33 ±1.3), and the mean HB% was 10.5±1.1. Prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was 16.3%, 9%, and 15.6% respectively. The prevalence of anemia was quite high (51.3%). Significant statistical relations were found between malnutrition and socio-economic status, mothers' education, mothers' ages at first birth, anemia status and commencement of complementary feeding

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