Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India

Objectives: Home to one in five adolescents globally and a tradition of marrying young, India faces a huge challenge of teenage births. Early birth can be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the teenage mother and her child, but few studies have followed teenage girls over time to understand...

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Main Authors: Pant, Anjali, Scott, Samuel P., Walia, Monika, Menon, Purnima, Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Format: Abstract
Language:Inglés
Published: American Society for Nutrition 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142426
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author Pant, Anjali
Scott, Samuel P.
Walia, Monika
Menon, Purnima
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
author_browse Menon, Purnima
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Pant, Anjali
Scott, Samuel P.
Walia, Monika
author_facet Pant, Anjali
Scott, Samuel P.
Walia, Monika
Menon, Purnima
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
author_sort Pant, Anjali
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Objectives: Home to one in five adolescents globally and a tradition of marrying young, India faces a huge challenge of teenage births. Early birth can be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the teenage mother and her child, but few studies have followed teenage girls over time to understand these effects. We assessed the impact of early birth on female adolescents' undernutrition status. Methods: We used longitudinal data collected under a project called UDAYA that surveyed adolescent girls in northern India (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) in 2015–16, with a follow-up round in 2018–19. Girls with no prior birth in round one were grouped as follows: still no birth in round two (reference group; n = 7,197), birth at age < 19 years by round two (early birth group; EB; n = 1,192), and birth at age > = 19 years by round two (later birth group; LB; n = 1,474). Using multivariate logistic and ordinary least square regression models, we examined whether EB or LB predicted height for age z-score (HAZ), stunting, BMI for age z-score (BMIZ), thinness, hemoglobin (Hb), and anemia. Models were controlled for cluster sampling design and individual and household characteristics. Results: The prevalence of undernutrition was higher in the EB group (stunting: 53%, thinness: 23%, anemia: 77%) and the LB group (stunting: 55%, thinness: 29%, anemia: 64%) compared to the reference group (stunting: 35%, thinness: 16%, anemia: 63%). The EB group was more likely to be short for their age (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.30, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.96,1.76), thin (AOR: 1.09, 95%CI: 0.68, 1.75), and anemic (AOR: 2.01, 95%CI: 1.39, 2.90) compared to the reference group. HAZ and Hb levels were on average 0.16 SD (95%CI: –0.30, –0.03) and 0.49 gm/DL (95%CI: –0.76, –0.22) lower, respectively, and BMIZ level was 0.22 SD (95%CI: 0.00, 0.43) higher for the EB group. Similar findings were observed for the LB group but were non-significant. The impact of EB on stunting and thinness was non-significant. Conclusions: In adolescent girls, early birth can contribute to stunting and anemia. initiatives to increase age at marriage and at birth would likely also benefit nutritional outcomes in adolescents.
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spelling CGSpace1424262025-10-28T10:12:08Z Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India Pant, Anjali Scott, Samuel P. Walia, Monika Menon, Purnima Nguyen, Phuong Hong maternal and child health anaemia adolescents health girls stunting adolescent fertility malnutrition nutrition longitudinal studies Objectives: Home to one in five adolescents globally and a tradition of marrying young, India faces a huge challenge of teenage births. Early birth can be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the teenage mother and her child, but few studies have followed teenage girls over time to understand these effects. We assessed the impact of early birth on female adolescents' undernutrition status. Methods: We used longitudinal data collected under a project called UDAYA that surveyed adolescent girls in northern India (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) in 2015–16, with a follow-up round in 2018–19. Girls with no prior birth in round one were grouped as follows: still no birth in round two (reference group; n = 7,197), birth at age < 19 years by round two (early birth group; EB; n = 1,192), and birth at age > = 19 years by round two (later birth group; LB; n = 1,474). Using multivariate logistic and ordinary least square regression models, we examined whether EB or LB predicted height for age z-score (HAZ), stunting, BMI for age z-score (BMIZ), thinness, hemoglobin (Hb), and anemia. Models were controlled for cluster sampling design and individual and household characteristics. Results: The prevalence of undernutrition was higher in the EB group (stunting: 53%, thinness: 23%, anemia: 77%) and the LB group (stunting: 55%, thinness: 29%, anemia: 64%) compared to the reference group (stunting: 35%, thinness: 16%, anemia: 63%). The EB group was more likely to be short for their age (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.30, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.96,1.76), thin (AOR: 1.09, 95%CI: 0.68, 1.75), and anemic (AOR: 2.01, 95%CI: 1.39, 2.90) compared to the reference group. HAZ and Hb levels were on average 0.16 SD (95%CI: –0.30, –0.03) and 0.49 gm/DL (95%CI: –0.76, –0.22) lower, respectively, and BMIZ level was 0.22 SD (95%CI: 0.00, 0.43) higher for the EB group. Similar findings were observed for the LB group but were non-significant. The impact of EB on stunting and thinness was non-significant. Conclusions: In adolescent girls, early birth can contribute to stunting and anemia. initiatives to increase age at marriage and at birth would likely also benefit nutritional outcomes in adolescents. 2021-06-21 2024-05-22T12:10:29Z 2024-05-22T12:10:29Z Abstract https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142426 en Open Access American Society for Nutrition Pant, Anjali; Scott, Samuel; Walia, Monika; Menon, Purnima; and Nguyen, Phuong Hong. 2021. Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10, 000 girls in India. Current Developments in Nutrition 5(Supplement 2): 675. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab045_057
spellingShingle maternal and child health
anaemia
adolescents
health
girls
stunting
adolescent fertility
malnutrition
nutrition
longitudinal studies
Pant, Anjali
Scott, Samuel P.
Walia, Monika
Menon, Purnima
Nguyen, Phuong Hong
Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India
title Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India
title_full Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India
title_fullStr Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India
title_full_unstemmed Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India
title_short Teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia: Evidence from a longitudinal study of 10,000 girls in India
title_sort teenage birth leads to short stature and anemia evidence from a longitudinal study of 10 000 girls in india
topic maternal and child health
anaemia
adolescents
health
girls
stunting
adolescent fertility
malnutrition
nutrition
longitudinal studies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142426
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