We partner with a secure submission system to handle manuscript submissions.
Please note:
You will need an account for the submission system, which is separate to your Cambridge Core account. For login and submission support, please visit the
submission and support pages.
Please review this journal's author instructions, particularly the
preparing your materials
page, before submitting your manuscript.
Click Proceed to submission system to continue to our partner's website.
To save this undefined to your undefined account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your undefined account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
To determine the prevalence and factors associated with stunting in 6-month-old South African infants.
Design
This cross-sectional study was part of the baseline of a randomized controlled trial. Weight-for-length, length-for-age and weight-for-age Z-scores were based on the WHO classification. Blood samples were analysed for Hb, plasma ferritin and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR). Socio-economic, breast-feeding and complementary feeding practices were assessed by questionnaire.
Setting/Subjects
Infants aged 6 months (n 750) from a peri-urban area of Matlosana Municipality, North West Province of South Africa.
Results
Stunting, underweight, wasting and overweight affected 28·5, 11·1, 1·7 and 10·1 % of infants, respectively. Exclusive breast-feeding to 6 months of age was reported in 5·9 % of the infants. Multivariable binary logistic regression showed that birth weight (OR=0·12; 95 % CI 0·07, 0·21, P<0·001) and maternal height (OR=0·94; 95 % CI 0·91, 0·98, P=0·001) were inversely associated with stunting; while male sex (OR=1·73; 95 % CI 1·10, 2·70, P=0·014) was associated with higher odds for stunting. Stunting was also associated with higher plasma sTfR (>8·3 mg/l) concentrations.
Conclusions
The association between stunting and lower birth weight, shorter maternal height and male sex reflects possibly the intergenerational origins of stunting. Therefore, interventions that focus on improving preconceptual and maternal nutritional status, combined with strategies to promote appropriate infant feeding practices, may be an important strategy to prevent stunting in vulnerable settings.