Prevalence and Associated Factors of Stunting among School Age Children in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia 2021.

Introduction: Stunting has long been regarded as one of the most important indicators of malnutrition, serving as a proxy for not just chronic nutritional deficiency but also long-term socioeconomic disadvantage among children and society as a whole. In 2016, stunting alone afflicted an estimated 154.8 million (22.9%) children under the age of five over the world. It is one of Ethiopia's most serious undernutrition and health problems among school-aged children.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and associated factors of stunting among school-aged children in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia 2021.

Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among primary school students in Addis Ababa city. By using a single population proportion, a formula of 627 students was recruited. From 11 sub-cities, 4 sub-cities were selected by lottery method, and 21 (30%) of the schools from the sub-city were selected. Finally, from each school, study participants were selected by using systematic random sampling, using their attendance list as a frame. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data, and anthropometric measurements were taken. In order to see the association between the dependent (stunting) and independent variables, bi-variable and multi-variable logistic regression were used. During bi-variable analysis, variables that had p-values of less than 0.2 were entered into multivariable analysis to see the effect of confounding factors. Adjusted Odds Ratios with 95% confidence intervals and a P-value of less than 0.05 were used to see the level of significance.

Result: The prevalence of stunting was 108/607 (18.0%) with a 95% CI of 14.5-20.9). Being a male child (AOR = 0.616, 95% CI, 0.34-0.96), type of water source (AOR = 3.4, 95% CI, 1.12-10.37), not feeding breast milk (AOR = 3.411, 95% CI, 1.09-10.07), educational status, and ability to read and write (AOR = 2.11, 95% CI, 1.15-3.88) were predictors of stunting.

Conclusion: The study showed that the prevalence of stunting was high, and it explored that stunting remains a noticeable attribute of urban school-age children. The higher educational status of the mother, exclusive breast feeding, using ground water, and being a female child were negatively associated with the prevalence of stunting. The risk of stunting was higher among male than female school-aged children. Findings from the study suggest the need to strengthen the strategies that lead to Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure all girls and boys complete primary and secondary schooling by 2030.