Survey on the stunting of children under seven years of age in nine cities of China
10.3760/cma.j.issn.0578-1310.2020.03.007
- VernacularTitle: 中国九市七岁以下儿童生长迟缓状况调查研究
- Author:
Yaqin ZHANG
1
;
Hui LI
1
;
Huahong WU
1
;
Xinnan ZONG
1
;
Yichen LI
2
;
Jia LI
3
;
Xiaomei XIANG
4
;
Jing ZHANG
5
;
Meiling TONG
6
;
Zhongqiang CAO
7
;
Suifang LIN
8
;
Wei CHEN
9
;
Ke ZHU
10
Author Information
1. Department of Growth and Development, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China
2. Department of Child Health Care, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing 100026, China
3. Department of Child Health Care, Harbin Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Harbin 150010, China
4. Department of Primary Child Health Care, Xi′an Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Xi′an 710002, China
5. Department of Child Health Care, Shanghai Maternal and Child Health Care Center, Shanghai 200062, China
6. Department of Child Health Care, Women′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China
7. Department of Maternal and Child Health, Wuhan Children′s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital),Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan 430015, China
8. Department of Child Health Care, Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center, Guangzhou 510623, China
9. Department of Child Health Care, Fuzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Fuzhou 350005, China
10. Department of Child Health Care, Kunming City Maternal and Child Health Hospital (Kunming Municipal Service Center for Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning), Kunming 650000, China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Child;
Growth;
Stunting;
Prevalence
- From:
Chinese Journal of Pediatrics
2020;58(3):194-200
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To survey the children under 7 years of age in nine cities of China for a better understanding of the current situation of childhood stunting.
Methods:According to a stratified cluster sampling design, a cross-sectional survey on children under 7 years of age was carried out in 9 cities (Beijing, Harbin and Xi′an in northern China; Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan in central China; and Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Kunming in southern China) from June to November in 2016. A total of 110 499 children were recruited. Height of children was evaluated using the growth standards for Chinese children (2009 edition) .Children with height less than the 3rd percentile of the growth standards were considered as stunting, and children with height between the 3rd and 10th percentiles of the growth standards were considered as relatively short stature. Chi-square test was used for comparison between data of boys and girls, urban and suburban, as well as among different ages and regions.
Results:Totally 113 084 children under 7 years of age should be investigated and actually 110 499 children were investigated, with a rate of 97.7%. The prevalence of stunting was 1.9% (2 141/110 499) among all the children. The prevalence of stunting in urban children (1.6%, 904/55 524) was lower than that in suburban children (2.3%, 1 237/54 975, χ2=56.246, P<0.01). The gender difference in stunting prevalence was not statistically significant (1.9% (1 121/57 921) in boys and 1.9% (1 020/52 578) in girls, χ2=0.003, P=0.965). The prevalence of stunting decreased with age for children younger than 3 years, from 1.8% (312/17 080) in 0-<1 year of age group to 1.2% (168/13 740) in 2-<3 years of age group, but increased to 2.2% (240/11 073) at 6-<7 years group. Comparison among different regions showed that the stunting prevalence in southern region was higher than those in the central and northern regions (0.9% (193/20 374) in northern urban, 0.8% (154/18 486) in central urban, and 3.3% (557/16 664) in southern urban children), showing a statistical significance (χ2=437.736, P<0.01); 1.1% (241/21 924) in northern suburban, 1.4% (227/16 775) in central suburban and 4.7% (769/16 276) in southern suburban children, showing a statistical significance (χ2=646.533, P<0.01). In urban areas, the difference between the central and northern regions showed no statistical significance (χ2=1.429, P=0.232) and the stunting prevalence of central Chinese children was slightly higher than that of northern Chinese children in suburban areas (χ2=5.130, P=0.024). Among the nine cities, the stunting prevalence of Guangzhou (6.1%, 613/10 019) was higher than those of other cities (χ2=1 559.64, P<0.01). Among the stunting children, 78.4% (1 679/2 141) were classified as borderline or mild and only 7.2% (154/2 141) were classified as severe. The prevalence of relatively short stature was 5.2% (5 721/110 499).
Conclusions:The prevalence of stunting among children under 7 years of age in nine cities of China is low and most of the stunting children were classified as mild; the prevalence of stunting in suburban children is higher than that in urban children; the gender difference show no statistical significance; and the prevalence of stunting in southern Chinese children is higher than those in central and northern Chinese children.
