title: [Determinants of linear growth retardation in Brazilian preschool children: a multilevel approach].
abstract: This study focuses on the determinants of linear growth deficit in under-five children using multilevel modeling. The sample included 3,746 preschoolers from 15 Brazilian municipalities (ten from the State of Bahia and five from São Paulo), with a three-tier analysis (municipalities, households, and children). Municipal data were obtained from the 1991 National Census. Individual and household data were collected from 1999 to 2001 using structured questionnaires and measuring children's weight and height. Analysis used the MLwiN software. In the final multilevel model, low HDI and prenatal care at the municipal level, poor environmental and economic conditions and maternal schooling at the household level, and low birth weight, incomplete immunization, prior history of malnutrition, and no report of breastfeeding at the individual level were strongly associated with linear growth deficit. Total variability of deficit explained by the model was 27.4%, of which 51.3%, 33%, and 15.7% were explained, respectively, by individual, household, and municipal variables.
authors: Escola de Nutrição, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Araújo Pinho 32, Salvador, BA 40110-150, Brazil. lucipmo@ufba.br
authors: Lucivalda P M
authors: LP
authors: Oliveira
authors: Mauricio L
authors: ML
authors: Barreto
authors: Ana Marlúcia O
authors: AM
authors: Assis
authors: Antonio C R
authors: AC
authors: Braga-Junior
authors: Maria F F Pussik
authors: MF
authors: Nunes
authors: Nelson F
authors: NF
authors: Oliveira
authors: Maria Helena D'Aquino
authors: MH
authors: Benício
authors: Sônia Isoyama
authors: SI
authors: Venâncio
authors: Sílvia Regina D Médici
authors: SR
authors: Saldiva
authors: Maria Mercedes Loureiro
authors: MM
authors: Escuder
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000886:Anthropometry; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007228:Infant Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011640:Public Policy; D017678:Sex Distribution