Characterizing Micronutrient Status and Risk Factors among Late Adolescent and Young Women in Rural Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Assessment of the MaPPS Trial

Nutritional deficiencies are a leading underlying risk factor contributing to the global burden of disease. In Pakistan, late adolescence is considered a nutritionally vulnerable period, as micronutrient requirements are increased to support maturation, and dietary staples are nutrient poor. However...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2021-04, Vol.13 (4), p.1237
Main Authors: Baxter, Jo-Anna B, Wasan, Yaqub, Hussain, Amjad, Soofi, Sajid B, Ahmed, Imran, Bhutta, Zulfiqar A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adolescent nutrition
Adolescents
Anemia
Child development
Confidence intervals
Data collection
Decision making
Empowerment
Food
Households
Inflammation
Iron
micronutrient status
Nutrient deficiency
Nutrient requirements
Nutrient status
Nutrition research
Nutritional status
Personal health
Poverty
Principal components analysis
Proteins
Public health
Questionnaires
Risk analysis
Risk factors
Socioeconomics
Staples
Teenagers
Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Vitamin deficiency
Womens health
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Summary:Nutritional deficiencies are a leading underlying risk factor contributing to the global burden of disease. In Pakistan, late adolescence is considered a nutritionally vulnerable period, as micronutrient requirements are increased to support maturation, and dietary staples are nutrient poor. However, there has been limited evaluation of micronutrient status beyond anemia and its determinants. Using cross-sectional data from late adolescent and young women (15-23 years) at enrolment in the Matiari emPowerment and Preconception Supplementation (MaPPS) Trial, we aimed to describe the prevalence of key micronutrient deficiencies of public health concern, and generate hierarchical models to examine associations with proxies for social determinants of health (SDoH). The prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies was high: 53.6% (95% confidence interval (CI): 53.0-54.3%) had anemia; 38.0% (95% CI: 36.4-39.6%) iron deficiency anemia; 31.8% (95% CI: 30.2-33.3%) vitamin A deficiency; and 81.1% (95% CI: 79.8-82.4%) vitamin D deficiency. At least one deficiency was experienced by 91.0% (95% CI: 90.1-92.0%). Few SDoH were maintained in the final hierarchical models, although those maintained were often related to socioeconomic status (e.g., education, occupation). To improve the micronutrient status of late adolescent and young women in Pakistan, a direct micronutrient intervention is warranted, and should be paired with broader poverty alleviation methods.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu13041237