Stunting and associated factors in children aged 6 to 24 months attended in the Southwest of Bahia Health Units

Abstract Objective To assess the prevalence and factors associated with stunting among 6 to 24-month old children. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study including 360 children attended in all health units in the urban area of Vitória da Conquista - BA. A questionnaire was used to collect information and we evaluated anthropometric measures of weight and height. Nutritional status was evaluated according to the cutoff points for anthropometric indexes recommended by the World Health Organization. The association among the studied factors and stunting was assessed by Poisson regression with robust variance. Results The prevalence of stunting in the assessed children was 13.6%. The factors associated with the outcome were: father’s unemployment (PR: 2.46; 95% CI: 1.34 to 4.49) and low birth weight (OR: 2.29; 95% CI: 1.27 to 4.13). Conclusion The results show a significant prevalence of stunting among children under two years old, emphasizing the importance of nutritional monitoring and the influence of obstetric and socioeconomic factors.