Association between infant- and child-feeding index and nutritional status: Results from a cross-sectional study among children attending an Urban Hospital in Bangladesh

Integration of infant- and child-feeding index (icfi) addressing the multidimensional child-feeding practices into one age-specific summary index is gaining importance. this cross-sectional study was aimed at understanding the association between the icfi and the nutritional status of 259 children,aged 6-23 months,who attended the paediatric outpatient department of the dhaka medical college hospital in bangladesh. the mean length-for-age z-score (laz) of children aged 12-23 months was significantly (p<0.05) higher among those who were at the upper icfi tercile compared to those who were at the middle or lower icfi tercile (-2.01 and -3.20 respectively). a significant correlation was found between the icfi and the laz (r=0.24,p=0.01 and r=0.29,p=0.01) in children aged 6-8-months and 12-23-months. multivariable analysis,after adjusting for potential confounders,also found a significant association between the icfi and the laz (β=0.13,p=0.03). the predictive capability of the proposed icfi on nutritional status of children,especially length-for-age,needs to be further evaluated prospectively among healthy children in the community. © international centre for diarrhoeal disease research,bangladesh.