Malnutrition Frequency and Its Family-Related Factors among Infants in Yasuj City in Iran, 2011

Background: malnutrition is one of the most common hazardswhich compromise children’s health. previous studies havereported high rates of malnutrition in kohkilouyeh and boyerahmad.objective: this study was conducted to evaluate the frequencyof child malnutrition in yasuj and to explore the associationbetween family characteristics and malnutrition.methods: data were collected from healthcare files of 285infants aged 18 months and younger in yasuj health care centers.data included demographic information and anthropometricmeasurements at birth and at the last referral to health centers.results: rates of underweight, stunting, wasting, and lowhead circumference at birth were 17.9%, 13.4%, 27.8%, and19%, and at the last referral they were 22.5%, 11.3%, 29%, and15.5%, respectively. the frequency of underweight and wastinghad significantly increased and that of stunting and low headcircumference significantly decreased during the period betweenbirth and the last referral. birth wasting was significantly morecommon in younger mothers, families with fewer children,and shorter birth interval. birth underweight and small headcircumference was significantly associated with shorter birthinterval. child stunting was related to father’s education level andchild wasting was associated with mother’s education. parents’education did not have any association with birth malnutrition.conclusion: wasting appeared to be the major form ofmalnutrition among infants in yasuj. it was very high at birth,and continued to elevate after birth. elevating educational levelof parents (over diploma), educating parents to keep sufficientinterval between pregnancies, and paying more attention toyoung mothers and those who are delivering their first baby areamong strategies to ameliorate child wasting.