title: Household food insecurity and dietary diversity as correlates of maternal and child undernutrition in rural Cambodia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess household food insecurity and dietary diversity as correlates of maternal and child anthropometric status and anemia in rural Cambodia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Trained interviewers administered a survey to 900 households in four rural districts of Prey Veng, Cambodia. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) were used to assess household food insecurity and dietary diversity. The height, weight and hemoglobin concentration of the mother and youngest child under 5 years in each household were measured. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess the association between household food insecurity and dietary diversity, and child stunting and wasting, maternal thinness, maternal and child anemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean (s.d.) HFIAS and HDDS scores were 5.3 (3.9) and 4.7 (1.6), respectively. The respective prevalences of mild, moderate and severe food insecurity were 33, 37 and 12%. Maternal thinness, child stunting and child wasting were present in 14.6, 25.4 and 8.1% of respondents, respectively. The risk of maternal thinness, but not child stunting or wasting, increased as the severity of household food insecurity increased. Household food insecurity was also positively associated with maternal, but not child, anemia. Household dietary diversity status was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes we assessed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Efforts to improve household food security are important as a means of promoting maternal nutritional status; however, additional research is needed to better understand the role of other factors that are driving the burden of child undernutrition in Cambodia.
authors.affiliation: Famine Early Warning Systems Network, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McLean
authors.affiliation: Helen Keller International, Asia Pacific Regional Office, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kroeun
authors.affiliation: Helen Keller International, Asia Pacific Regional Office, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Talukder
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Lynd
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D002160:Cambodia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002149:Energy Intake; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D009035:Mothers; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D019282:Wasting Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult