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High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach

Childhood malnutrition is known as a public health concern globally. The present study aims to assess the anthropometry and blood biochemical status of rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. A total of 776 children (7–11 years old) from ten rural primary schools from five states were included in...

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Main Authors: Tan, Pei Yee, Syahirah Nadiah, Mohd Johari, Teng, Kim-Tiu, Radhika, Loganathan, Lee, Soo Ching, Romano, Ngui, Kanga Rani, Selvaduray, Yvonne Lim, Ai Lian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2023
Subjects:
R Medicine (General)
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44550/3/High%20prevalence.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44550/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/high-prevalence-of-malnutrition-and-vitamin-a-deficiency-among-schoolchildren-of-rural-areas-in-malaysia-using-a-multischool-assessment-approach/A8DD7DDA55636E83F54309DC8FE66969
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spelling my.unimas.ir.445502024-04-05T00:50:51Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44550/ High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach Tan, Pei Yee Syahirah Nadiah, Mohd Johari Teng, Kim-Tiu Radhika, Loganathan Lee, Soo Ching Romano, Ngui Kanga Rani, Selvaduray Yvonne Lim, Ai Lian R Medicine (General) Childhood malnutrition is known as a public health concern globally. The present study aims to assess the anthropometry and blood biochemical status of rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. A total of 776 children (7–11 years old) from ten rural primary schools from five states were included in this study. Nutritional outcomes were assessed based on sex, age group and school categories among the children (median age: 9 years (P25:8, P75:10)). The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 53·4 %. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) was recorded at 20·6 and 39·8 % based on retinol and retinol-binding protein (RBP) levels, respectively. Anaemia, iron deficiency (ID), iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) and elevated inflammation were found at 14·9, 17·9, 9·1 and 11·5 %, respectively. Malnutrition, VAD, anaemia, ID, IDA and elevated inflammation were more prevalent among Orang Asli (OA) schoolchildren compared with Non-Orang Asli schoolchildren. Higher occurrences of VAD and anaemia were also found among children aged <10 years. Retinol, RBP, α-carotene, ferritin and haemoglobin levels were lower among undernourished children. Besides, overweight/obese children exhibited a higher level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that OA school children (adjusted OR (AOR): 6·1; 95 % CI 4·1, 9·0) and IDA (AOR: 3·6; 95 % CI 1·9, 6·6) were associated with stunting among this population. The present study revealed that malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and anaemia are prevalent among rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia, especially those from OA schools and younger age children (<10 years). Hence, more appropriate and targeted measures are needed to improve the nutritional status of these children. Cambridge University Press 2023 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44550/3/High%20prevalence.pdf Tan, Pei Yee and Syahirah Nadiah, Mohd Johari and Teng, Kim-Tiu and Radhika, Loganathan and Lee, Soo Ching and Romano, Ngui and Kanga Rani, Selvaduray and Yvonne Lim, Ai Lian (2023) High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach. British Journal of Nutrition, 129 (3). pp. 454-467. ISSN 0007-1145 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/high-prevalence-of-malnutrition-and-vitamin-a-deficiency-among-schoolchildren-of-rural-areas-in-malaysia-using-a-multischool-assessment-approach/A8DD7DDA55636E83F54309DC8FE66969 doi:10.1017/S0007114522001398
institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
building Centre for Academic Information Services (CAIS)
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
content_source UNIMAS Institutional Repository
url_provider http://ir.unimas.my/
language English
topic R Medicine (General)
spellingShingle R Medicine (General)
Tan, Pei Yee
Syahirah Nadiah, Mohd Johari
Teng, Kim-Tiu
Radhika, Loganathan
Lee, Soo Ching
Romano, Ngui
Kanga Rani, Selvaduray
Yvonne Lim, Ai Lian
High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach
description Childhood malnutrition is known as a public health concern globally. The present study aims to assess the anthropometry and blood biochemical status of rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. A total of 776 children (7–11 years old) from ten rural primary schools from five states were included in this study. Nutritional outcomes were assessed based on sex, age group and school categories among the children (median age: 9 years (P25:8, P75:10)). The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 53·4 %. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) was recorded at 20·6 and 39·8 % based on retinol and retinol-binding protein (RBP) levels, respectively. Anaemia, iron deficiency (ID), iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) and elevated inflammation were found at 14·9, 17·9, 9·1 and 11·5 %, respectively. Malnutrition, VAD, anaemia, ID, IDA and elevated inflammation were more prevalent among Orang Asli (OA) schoolchildren compared with Non-Orang Asli schoolchildren. Higher occurrences of VAD and anaemia were also found among children aged <10 years. Retinol, RBP, α-carotene, ferritin and haemoglobin levels were lower among undernourished children. Besides, overweight/obese children exhibited a higher level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that OA school children (adjusted OR (AOR): 6·1; 95 % CI 4·1, 9·0) and IDA (AOR: 3·6; 95 % CI 1·9, 6·6) were associated with stunting among this population. The present study revealed that malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and anaemia are prevalent among rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia, especially those from OA schools and younger age children (<10 years). Hence, more appropriate and targeted measures are needed to improve the nutritional status of these children.
format Article
author Tan, Pei Yee
Syahirah Nadiah, Mohd Johari
Teng, Kim-Tiu
Radhika, Loganathan
Lee, Soo Ching
Romano, Ngui
Kanga Rani, Selvaduray
Yvonne Lim, Ai Lian
author_facet Tan, Pei Yee
Syahirah Nadiah, Mohd Johari
Teng, Kim-Tiu
Radhika, Loganathan
Lee, Soo Ching
Romano, Ngui
Kanga Rani, Selvaduray
Yvonne Lim, Ai Lian
author_sort Tan, Pei Yee
title High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach
title_short High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach
title_full High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach
title_fullStr High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach
title_full_unstemmed High prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in Malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach
title_sort high prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin a deficiency among schoolchildren of rural areas in malaysia using a multi-school assessment approach
publisher Cambridge University Press
publishDate 2023
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44550/3/High%20prevalence.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/44550/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/high-prevalence-of-malnutrition-and-vitamin-a-deficiency-among-schoolchildren-of-rural-areas-in-malaysia-using-a-multischool-assessment-approach/A8DD7DDA55636E83F54309DC8FE66969
_version_ 1797543488626098176
score 13.211869

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