title: Association between the Infant and Child Feeding Index (ICFI) and nutritional status of 6- to 35-month-old children in rural western China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the quality of feeding practices and children's nutritional status in rural western China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 12,146 pairs of 6- to 35-month-old children and their mothers were recruited using stratified multistage cluster random sampling in rural western China. Quantile regression was used to analyze the relationship between the Infant and Child Feeding Index (ICFI) and children's nutritional status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In rural western China, 24.37% of all infants and young children suffer from malnutrition. Of this total, 19.57%, 8.74% and 4.63% of infants and children are classified as stunting, underweight and wasting, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, the quantile regression results suggested that qualified ICFI (ICFI > 13.8) was associated with all length and HAZ quantiles (P<0.05) and had a greater effect on the following: poor length and HAZ, the β-estimates (length) from 0.76 cm (95% CI: 0.53 to 0.99 cm) to 0.34 cm (95% CI: 0.09 to 0.59 cm) and the β-estimates (HAZ) from 0.17 (95% CI: 0.10 to 0.24) to 0.11 (95% CI: 0.04 to 0.19). Qualified ICFI was also associated with most weight quantiles (P<0.05 except the 80th and 90th quantiles) and poor and intermediate WAZ quantiles (P<0.05 including the 10th, 20th 30th and 40th quantiles). Additionally, qualified ICFI had a greater effect on poor weight and WAZ quantiles in which the β-estimates (weight) were from 0.20 kg (95% CI: 0.14 to 0.26 kg) to 0.06 kg (95% CI: 0.00 to 0.12 kg) and the β-estimates (WAZ) were from 0.14 (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.21) to 0.05 (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.10).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Feeding practices were associated with the physical development of infants and young children, and proper feeding practices had a greater effect on poor physical development in infants and young children. For mothers in rural western China, proper guidelines and messaging on complementary feeding practices are necessary.
authors.affiliation: Xi'an JiaoTong University, Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Xi'an JiaoTong University, Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Baibing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Pembroke Place, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Duolao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Xi'an JiaoTong University, Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ruo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Xi'an JiaoTong University, Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiaomei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Xi'an JiaoTong University, Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Danmeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Xi'an JiaoTong University, Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shaonong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Xi'an JiaoTong University, Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.|Nutrition and Food Safety Engineering Research Center of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000592:standards*; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population