Abstract
Background
There is a concurrent increase in anaemia and overweight/obesity among women in the South and South East Asia regions. Despite these, studies on the co-existence of anaemia and overweight/obesity in these countries are abysmally limited. This secondary analysis sought to estimate the burden of the intraindividual double burden of malnutrition (IDBM), i.e., co-existence of anaemia and overweight/obesity among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in India, Myanmar, and Nepal, and explore the impact of socio-demographic and economic factors on this health outcome.
Methods
A secondary analysis of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of India (2019–2021), Myanmar (2015–2016), and Nepal (2016) was conducted. A descriptive analysis of the health outcomes and the risk factors was done with frequencies and percentages. The association between selected socio-demographic (women’s age, education status, number of children and place of residence) and economic (occupation status, and wealth quintile) variables with IDBM was found with binary logistic regression analysis.
Results
Around one in ten women of reproductive age group in India and Myanmar had IDBM. In Nepal, it occurs in one in nearly 15 women. Maternal age, education, household wealth, number of children, place of residence, and occupation were found to be significant predictors of IDBM.
Conclusion
There is a high prevalence of IDBM in South Asian women and it varies substantially across different socio-demographic and economic predictors. Sufficient evidence from prospective studies is needed to establish causal association and also to implement need-based prevention and curative strategies.
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Data availability
The Demographic and Health Survey datasets were available in the public domain (https://dhsprogram.com/data/available-datasets.cfm).
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the Demographic Health Surveys for providing us with the data upon which the findings of this study were based.
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RJ conceptualised the study, applied for the datasets, analysed the datasets, and wrote the manuscript with CS. SK critically reviewed the manuscript draft. All authors have reviewed and accepted the final manuscript draft.
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Jayalakshmi, R., Sewor, C. & Kannan, S. Intraindividual double burden of malnutrition among women (15–49 years) in India, Myanmar, and Nepal: evidence from the recent Demographic and Health Surveys. Eur J Clin Nutr 77, 603–610 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01269-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01269-9