Socioeconomic inequalities in low birth weight in South Asia: A comparative analysis using Demographic and Health Surveys

Background: Low Birth Weight (LBW) continues to be a prominent universal cause of various short- and long-term health hazards throughout infancy and adulthood. However, no study has revealed the socioeconomic inequalities in LBW among South Asian countries. This study assesses the socioeconomic inequalities among under-five South Asian children with LBW. Methods: Secondary data were derived from six (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan) nationally representative South Asian Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2015 and 2021, and included 170,547 under-five years of age children. The study employed the concentration curve and concentration index to assess the socioeconomic inequalities of those with LBW. Additionally, mixed-effect logistic regression was applied to determine the factors associated with LBW. Results: A significant negative concentration index indicates the wealth-related and education-related inequalities of LBW among under-five South Asian children. LBW is highly concentrated in the socio-economically poor section of the society. Our study found statistically significant negative concentration index in all South Asian countries: Afghanistan (Education: -0.108), Bangladesh (wealth: -0.070 & education: -0.083), India (wealth: -0.059 & education: -0.052), Nepal (by wealth: -0.064 & by education: -0.080), and Pakistan (by wealth: -0.080 & by education: -0.095). Findings from the mixed-effects logistic regression model also show that children from the poorest quintiles (AOR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.41–1.67) and illiterate mothers (AOR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.29–1.51) had higher odds of being afflicted with LBW compared to the wealthiest quintiles and educated mothers respectively. Women's pregnancy assessments, such as antenatal care utilisation, iron supplementation intake, and normal delivery mode, are significantly correlated with decreased odds of children's LBW. Conclusion: There exists a strong association between LBW cases and socioeconomic inequalities among South-Asian children below five years of age. This indicates the urgent need for health education and prenatal care services for women from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, especially those with lower socioeconomic status.

Find in a library

SSM - Population Health (Search for host publication in LIBRIS)

To the university's database

1 of 1
Previous record
Next record
To hitlist

Find more in SwePub

By the author/editor: Sathi, N. J.; Ahammed, B.; Alam, K.; Hashmi, R.; Lee, Ka Yiu; Keramat, S. A.

About the subject

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES: MEDICAL AND HEAL ...; and Health Sciences; and Public Health Gl ...

Articles in the publication: SSM - Population ...

By the university: Mid Sweden University

Search outside SwePub

Extend your search to:: Google; Google Book Search; Google Scholar

Kungliga biblioteket hanterar dina personuppgifter i enlighet med EU:s dataskyddsförordning (2018), GDPR. Läs mer om hur det funkar här.
Så här hanterar KB dina uppgifter vid användning av denna tjänst.

LIBRIS.kb.se

Socioeconomic inequalities in low birth weight in South Asia : A comparative analysis using Demographic and Health Surveys

Subject headings

Keyword

Publication and Content Type

Find in a library

To the university's database

Find more in SwePub

Search outside SwePub