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Malnutrition among women is a long-standing public health concern that has significant adverse consequences on the survival and healthy development of children. Maternal mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) could potentially represent a simpler alternative to traditional nutritional indicators. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with low maternal MUAC (as an indicator of being underweight) and address the research question of whether maternal MUAC is significantly associated with children's nutritional status among poor and very poor households in rural Bangladesh. Data on 5,069 households were extracted from the Suchana programme baseline survey, which was carried out in 80 randomly selected unions (the lowest administrative unit of Bangladesh) in Sylhet and Moulvibazar districts between November 2016 and February 2017. The outcome variables were three child nutritional status indicators: wasting, stunting and underweight. Mothers were classified as underweight if their MUAC was less than 23 cm. Separate multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the factors potentially associated with maternal underweight status and explore whether maternal underweight status is significantly associated with children's nutritional status. The prevalence of maternal underweight status was 46.7%, and the prevalence of wasting, stunting and underweight among children under two were 10.5%, 44.4% and 31.9%, respectively. After controlling for various socio-economic and demographic characteristics, maternal MUAC was significantly associated with children's nutritional status in rural Bangladesh., (© 2021 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) provides significant health benefits to children. However, mothers may find it difficult to continue EBF for 6 months. The present analysis aimed to examine the influence of the Suchana intervention—a large‐scale programme implemented with the aim of improving the health and nutritional status of mothers and children from poor households in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh—on EBF and stunting among children under 6 months. Baseline and endline data were obtained from the Suchana evaluation. EBF was defined as an infant (<6 months) only receiving breast milk in the previous 24 h. Childhood stunting was defined as a length‐for‐age z‐score of less than −2 among children of the same age. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the associations of the Suchana intervention with EBF and stunting. EBF prevalence improved from 64% at baseline to 85% at the endline in the intervention area, with the intervention group having 2.25 times higher odds of EBF compared to the control group. Stunting prevalence reduced from 28% at baseline to 24% at the endline in the intervention group, but after controlling for covariates, the association between stunting and the intervention was not significant. However, the interaction analysis showed significantly lower stunting prevalence among EBF children in both intervention and control areas. The Suchana intervention had a positive impact on the EBF practice of rural children in a vulnerable region of Bangladesh, and EBF was identified as a significant factor associated with stunting. The findings suggest that the continuation of the EBF intervention has the potential to have an impact on reducing stunting in the region, highlighting the importance of promoting EBF to improve child health and development. Key messages: Suchana intervention in rural Bangladesh promoted exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among mothers in the intervention group.EBF was found to be a significant factor associated with stunting in the study population.Better integration of determinants of stunting are needed to achieve a statistically significant reduction in stunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sample of one hundred of diabetes mellitus patients included in research from inpatients and outpatients of El Haram Hospital-Giza Governorate, Egypt. They were divided into two groups, 50 patients each, from inpatients and outpatients of El Haram hospital, and divided the sample to 25 males and 25 females at the group ages from 31 to 50 years old. This work aimed to study the relationship between diabetes mellitus and nutrients consumed by inpatients and outpatients of El Haram hospital in Giza governorate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child wasting is defined as a weight‐for‐height/length z‐score (WLZ/WHZ) < −2, and this indicator of nutritional status is used worldwide. However, a precise measurement is required for the assessment of a child's nutritional status, which may not always be possible due to expensive instruments, especially in poor resource settings. In some instances, mid‐upper arm circumference‐for‐age z‐score (MUACZ) is also being used for screening purposes, which is a simple and useful nutritional indicator. The objective of this paper is to identify the optimal cut‐off point for the MUACZ to identify wasted children, and also to determine if the same factors are associated with MUACZ and wasting. Data were derived from the Suchana evaluation data. The optimal cut‐off value was estimated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis using acute malnutrition as a gold standard with maximum sensitivity and specificity. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the associated factors with the MUACZ. Using the gold standard indicator of nonwasting (WLZ ≥ −2), a positive outcome, the optimal cut‐off point for the MUACZ was −1.27. The area under the ROC curve was 0.88, indicating that the model had a power of 88% to differentiate between the positive and negative classes. It implies that a child's MUACZ was correlated with WLZ, and a MUACZ below −1.27 appeared to accurately identify wasting among children aged 3–23 months. MUACZ < −1.27 might be another useful indicator of childhood wasting than a WLZ < −2. Key messages: We calculated the cut‐off point for a child's mid‐upper arm circumference‐for‐age z‐score (MUACZ) that MUACZ below −1.27 appears to accurately identify acute malnutrition among children aged 3–23 months with the highest sensitivity and specificity.Determinants of a child's MUACZ < −1.27 were estimated.Measurement of MUAC would be especially helpful when large numbers of children need to be screened quickly, particularly in humanitarian aid settings.MUACZ < −1.27 may represent a more useful indicator of childhood malnutrition than a weight‐for‐length z‐score < −2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate maternal healthcare practices are crucial to both maternal and infant nutrition outcomes. The Sylhet region of Bangladesh is vulnerable and performs poorly, as maternal and child health indicators are falling behind compared to other areas. Suchana, a large‐scale intervention programme aims to improve the health and nutritional status of mothers and children in this region. The objective of the present analysis is to assess the changes in indicators related to maternal healthcare practices among Suchana beneficiaries. We obtained data from the Suchana baseline and endline evaluation survey. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize data. The following maternal healthcare practices were considered: if a Suchana beneficiary mother received antenatal care (ANC) from skilled service providers, took day time resting during pregnancy, consumed additional diet during pregnancy, took at least 100 iron‐folic acid (IFA) tablets during pregnancy and took a vitamin A capsule after delivery. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of the Suchana intervention on maternal healthcare practices. The prevalence of the outcome variables at endline in the intervention area were as follows: 40% of mothers received at least four ANC from skilled service providers, 50% practiced daytime resting during pregnancy, 51% consumed additional diet during pregnancy, 41% took at least 100 iron‐folic acid tablets during pregnancy, 39% received postnatal care and 30% took a vitamin A capsule after delivery. The Suchana intervention significantly, positively improved indicators related to maternal healthcare practices; these findings support future larger‐scale programmes to improve maternal healthcare practices among vulnerable people in rural Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]