Ashley A. Campbell1, Saskia de Pee2, Kai Sun, Klaus Kraemer2, Andrew Thorne‐Lyman3, Regina Moench‐Pfanner2, Mayang Sari2, Nasima Akhter2, Martin W. Bloem3, Richard D. Semba
1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205 USA
2Johns Hopkins University
3Bloomberg School of Public Health
Tóm tắt
Background Food insecurity is common in developing countries and is related to the physical well-being of families. Household food insecurity is intended to reflect a household's access, availability, and utilization of food, but its relationship with child mortality has not been well characterized. Objective To examine the relationship of a modified household food insecurity score with a history of neonatal, infant, and under-five child mortality. Methods In a cross-sectional study of 26,339 rural households in the Indonesian Nutrition Surveillance System, 2000–03, household food insecurity was measured with the use of a modified nine-item food security questionnaire. A simple food insecurity score of 0 to 9 was calculated based on responses and related to mortality history in the family. Results The proportion of households with neonatal, infant, and under-five child mortality was 4.6%, 8.8%, and 10.6%, respectively. In households with and without neonatal, infant, and under-five child mortality, the mean (± SD) food insecurity scores were 2.19 ± 1.89 vs. 1.72 ± 1.65, 2.29 ± 1.94 vs. 1.69 ± 1.63, and 2.29 ± 1.93 vs. 1.68 ± 1.62 (all p < .0001), respectively. The food insecurity score was related to mortality among neonates (odds ratio [OR], 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02 to 1.09; p = .003), infants (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.09; p < .0001), and children under five (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.10; p < .0001) after adjustment for potential confounders. Conclusions Higher household food insecurity score is associated with greater neonatal, infant, and under-five child mortality among rural families in Indonesia. Greater household food insecurity may signify a higher risk of infant and young child mortality.
