Relationship Between Malaria And Malnutrition Among Under-five Children In Adami Tulu District South-central Ethiopia A Case- Control Study

BackgroundrnMalaria and malnutrition are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in under-five childrenrnin developing countries including Ethiopia. Malnutrition is an underplaying cause in about halfrnof all deaths occurring among children in developing countries. However, the relationshiprnbetween malnutrition and malaria is still controversial. This relationship has not been wellrndocumented in Ethiopia.rnObjective: The aim of this study was to assess whether malnutrition is associated with malariarnamong under-five children in Adami Tulu district, South-central Ethiopia.rnMethods A case-control study was conducted in Adami Tulu District, south-central Ethiopia.rnCases were all under-five children diagnosed with confirmed malaria, in selected healthrnfacilities, during the data collection period. Controls were apparently healthy under-five childrenrnrecruited from the community where cases reside. Mothers/caretakers of under-five childrenrnwere interviewed using pre-tested structured questionnaire prepared for this purpose. Nutritionalrnstatus of children was assessed by anthropometric method and analyzed using WHO Anthro.rnData were entered using EPi Info version 3.5.4 and exported to SPSS version 21 for cleaning andrnanalysis. Bivariate and multivariate analysis methods were used.rnResults: Four hundred twenty eight under-five children comprising of 107 cases and 321rncontrols were included in this study. The mean age was 28 (SD±14) months for cases and 33rn(SD±16) months for controls. Prevalence of stunting was 50.5% in cases and 45.2% in controls.rnPrevalence of underweight was 24.3 % in cases and 18% in controls. Prevalence of wasting wasrn17.8 % in cases and 9.3% in controls. Severe wasting (adjusted OR=2.951, 95% CI: 1.145,rn7.605), mid-upper arm circumference between -2 and -3 SD (adjusted OR =3.019, 95% CI:rn1.457, 6.253) and caretakers who had no education (adjusted OR=2.999, 95% CI: 1.266, 7.102)rnwere independently associated with malarial attack in under-five children.rnConclusion: Those under-five children, who were severely wasted, had MUAC between -2 and -rn3 SD and with uneducated caretakers had higher odds of malarial attack. Therefore, Malariarncontrol programmes should consider integrating nutritional interventions.

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