A case-control study was undertaken to determine risk factors for malnutrition in Hormozgan Province, which has the highest child malnutritionrateinthiscountry.Thestudy subjects were 6-to 30-month old children living on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas. Cases consisted of 158 children having weight-for-age Z scores under -1 by NCHS/WHO standards, controls were 258 subjects with scores over -1. Physical and anthropometrical examinations were performed and mothers interviewed for personal history and various socioeconomic variables. There was no matching procedure, but sex and age distributions were similar in the two groups. Parental education level was significantly lower in cases than controls (P=0.005) and cases were also more likely to have a history of acute disease (OR=1.66, CI%95 1.07-2.57). While father's occupational status differed somewhat between the two groups (P-0.083), other social and demographic factors such as family size, age difference between siblings, mother's occupation plus vaccination history, parent smoking habits, and the use of day-care facilities were distributed similarly between cases and controls. Early supplemental feeding (P=0.0384) and frequent health check-ups (PO.000) were found to protect against growth retardation. The link between child growth, parental education and regular health monitoring emphasizes the importance of addressing non-nutritional factors in the fight against malnutrition.

Keywords: case control, Bandar-Abhas

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