The association of parental education with childhood undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries: Comparing the role of paternal and maternal education
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Date
2017-02
Publication Type
Journal Article
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yes
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Abstract
Background: Most existing research on the association of parental education with childhood
undernutrition focuses on maternal education and often ignores paternal education.
We systematically investigate differences in maternal and paternal education and
their association with childhood undernutrition.
Methods: One hundred and eighty Demographic and Health Surveys from 62 countries
performed between 1990 and 2014 were analysed. We used linear-probability models to
predict childhood undernutrition prevalences, measured as stunting, underweight and
wasting, for all combinations of maternal and paternal attainment in school. Models
were adjusted for demographic and socio-economic covariates for the child, mother and
household, country-level fixed effects and clustering. Additional specifications adjust for
local area characteristics instead of country fixed effects.
Results: Both higher maternal and paternal education levels are associated with lower
childhood undernutrition. In regressions adjusted for child age and sex as well as
country-level fixed effects, the association is stronger for maternal education than for paternal
education when their combined level of education is held constant. In the fully adjusted
models, the observed differences in predicted undernutrition prevalences are
strongly attenuated, suggesting a similar importance of maternal and paternal education.
These findings are confirmed by the analysis of composite schooling indicators.
Conclusions: We find that paternal education is similarly important for reducing childhood
undernutrition as maternal education and should therefore receive increased attention
in the literature.
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Publication status
published
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Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
46 (1)
Pages / Article No.
312 - 323
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Child undernutrition; Parental education; Stunting; Wasting; Underweight
Organisational unit
03808 - Günther, Isabel / Günther, Isabel