Okyere, Joshua, Budu, Eugene, Aboagye, Richard Gyan, Seidu, Abdul-Aziz, Ahinkorah, Bright Opoku, and Yaya, Sanni (2024) Socioeconomic determinants of the double burden of malnutrition among women of reproductive age in sub‐Saharan Africa: A cross‐sectional study. Health Science Reports, 7 (5). e2071.

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Abstract

Background and Aim: The positioning of eliminating all forms of malnutrition within the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals and the adoption of the United Nations resolution for a Decade of Action on Nutrition are a testament to strong global commitment to combat the double burden of malnutrition (DBM). Yet, there is a knowledge gap in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regarding the influence of socioeconomic status on DBM. We investigated the associative effect of socioeconomic status on DBM in SSA.

Methods: Data for the study were extracted from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 29 countries in SSA conducted from 2010 to 2020. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to examine the association between socioeconomic status and DBM. The results were presented using adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: Children of obese mothers were less likely to be stunted compared to those born to mothers who were not overweight/obese [aOR = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.66−0.77]. The odds of stunting increased with wealth index, with children born to poorest mothers having the highest odds compared to those born to richest mother [aOR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.64−1.95]. The odds of stunting among children was highest among those born to mothers with no formal education compared to those whose mothers had higher education [aOR = 2.73; 95% CI = 2.34−3.18].

Conclusion: DBM among children in SSA is predicted by maternal level of education, and wealth status. These results underscore the urgency of tailored interventions and policies that address DBM among women of reproductive age, with a particular focus on the socioeconomic disparities in SSA. To effectively combat this pressing public health issue, it is imperative to direct efforts towards empowering women to attain higher levels of education and to implement strategies that consider the specific needs of women across varying socioeconomic statuses.

Item ID:	85876
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2398-8835
Copyright Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Date Deposited:	17 Jun 2025 23:49
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420606 Social determinants of health @ 100%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2005 Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) > 200509 Women's and maternal health @ 50% 20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200204 Health inequalities @ 50%
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