Statistical Analysis of Malnutrition Status of Under-five’s (0-59) Months Children in Bama, Dikwa and Ngala Local Government Areas of Borno State, Nigeria in 2018

Abstract

In this study, malnutrition in children aged 0-59 months was analyzed using estimated prevalence points and 95% confidence intervals for weight-for-height (WFH) and mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC). These indicators overlapped with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and global acute malnutrition (GAM) in Bama. SAM based on WFH was 3.0% (1.3-6.7; 95% CI), while SAM based on MUAC was 5.6% (2.3-13.2; 95% CI). GAM was 9.5% (5.4-16.2; 95% CI) based on WFH and 21.6% (15.8-28.6; 95% CI) by MUAC, indicating that acute malnutrition by MUAC was above the 15% alert threshold, whereas WFH was at the upper limit of the 3% alert threshold. SAM prevalence based on MUAC was about 50% higher than that based on WFH Z-scores, further supporting the weak correlation between SAM and GAM prevalence across MUAC and WFH criteria. MUAC captured more SAM cases than WFH because of its sensitivity for younger and shorter children, i.e., those below one year and less than 75 cm. The study revealed that the difference between the 95% confidence intervals for GAM and SAM prevalence was statistically insignificant, i.e., 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively.