[Inequality, poverty, and childhood health and nutritional conditions in Northeast Brazil].
This cross-sectional study analyzes the relationship between gradients of social inequalities and the household environment and health and nutritional conditions among 2,001 preschool children in ten counties (municipalities) in the State of Bahia, Brazil. The analysis used multinomial multivariate logistic regression. Children in the middle and lower tertiles on the poverty scale had significant and increasing odds of living in a household headed by a woman, an unemployed father, a mother with </= years of schooling, more than one child sharing the same bed, severe stunting, and retinol consumption below the median as compared to those in the upper tertile. More than one child in the home, weight deficit, and lipid consumption below the median were also significantly associated with the poorest tertile. Specific emergency health policies and measures must be implemented to minimize the burden imposed by poverty and social inequalities on childhood health and nutrition.
Assis
Ana Marlúcia O
AM
Escola de Nutrição, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brasil.
Barreto
Maurício L
ML
Santos
Nedja Silva
NS
Oliveira
Lucivalda Pereira Magalhães de
LP
Dos Santos
Sandra Maria Chaves
SM
Pinheiro
Sandra Maria Conceição
SM
D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011203:Poverty; D012424:Rural Population; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population