Nutritional Status and Associated Factors among Children Aged 6 months to 17 years with Disabilities in Gulele Sub-city, Addis Ababa

Abstract

Malnutrition and disability are interconnected especially in countries suffering from high levels of malnutrition including Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess the nutritional status and its associated factors among children with disabilities aged six months to seventeen years old, in Gulele Sub-city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study used cross-sectional study design. Two hundred seventy-two disabled children were studied. Anthropometric measurements including height, weight, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were taken. Based on the individual dietary diversity score of 12 food groups (FANTA), 165 children (60.7%) with disabilities consumed ≥ 6 food groups. MUAC and BMI measurements also indicate 55.1% and 58.1%, respectively, had normal nutritional status. However, the remaining proportion of children with disabilities were found to have moderate and severe acute malnutrition. There were 35.3% children with disabilities who did not feed properly due to poor appetite, restlessness, pharyngeal artesia, and preference of food items. More than average children with disabilities had normal nutritional status while, the rest of them had moderate and severe acute malnutrition. This was associated with difficulty of feeding, types of disabilities such as multiple disabilities , occupation of the household head, family size and income level. It is recommended that counselling regarding the needs of the children with disability for mothers/caregivers should be established as disability specific service points.