ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2023
Patterns in child stunting by age: A cross-sectional study of 94 low- and middle-income countries.
Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices and childhood stunting in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Childhood stunting and cognitive development: a meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Malnutrition trends in displaced Rohingya children from 2017 to 2024: a comprehensive 7-year repeated cross-sectional analysis.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Appropriateness of paediatric vitamin prescribing in Vietnamese outpatient settings: associated factors.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Socio-demographic and household determinants of stunting in children under five years: a pooled analysis of data from Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- The dynamics of rapid stunting reduction among children under 5 : a comparative study of age-specific trajectories and wealth disparities across six high-performing countries using JME and DHS data.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Influence of Maternal Lifestyle and Child Health Practices on the Health and Nutrition of Children Under Five Years Old: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors Associated with Child Undernutrition and Growth Failure in Eastern Africa.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Family Empowerment for Stunting Prevention in Children Aged 0-2 Years: A Concept Analysis.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Review
- Climate-Related Pathways to Child Stunting: Implications for Community Health Nursing - A Scoping Review.F1000Research · 2026Article
- Women's Empowerment Dimensions and Child Stunting in Ethiopia: A Multilevel Analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys 2011-2016.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Nutritional Status of Children 0-59 Months Old and Household Enrollment in theActa medica Philippina · 2026Article
- Changes in height-for-age of Egyptian children from 1995 to 2014: implications for improving child health outcomes.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and determinants of severe malnutrition among children under five in aspirational districts of India.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Associations ofCurrent developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Immunization attributable burden of stunting among under-five children in India, 2005-2021.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Social and Environmental Determinants of Childhood Stunting in Indonesia: National Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- Determinants of Stunting Among Children Aged 0.5 to 12 Years in Peninsular Malaysia: Findings from the SEANUTS II Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Stunting Among Low-Income Families in Indonesia: Is Mother's Employment a Risk Factor?Journal of research in health sciences · 2025Article
- The Evaluation of Anemia Among Stunted Children Aged 6-24 Months in Bandung District, West Java, Indonesia.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Child stunting prevalence is primarily used as an indicator of impeded physical growth due to undernutrition and infections, which also increases the risk of mortality, morbidity and cognitive problems, particularly when occurring during the 1000 days from conception to age 2 years. This paper estimated the relationship between stunting prevalence and age for children 0-59 months old in 94 low- and middle-income countries. The overall stunting prevalence was 32%. We found higher stunting prevalence among older children until around 28 months of age-presumably from longer exposure times and accumulation of adverse exposures to undernutrition and infections. In most countries, the stunting prevalence was lower for older children after around 28 months-presumably mostly due to further adverse exposures being less detrimental for older children, and catch-up growth. The age for which stunting prevalence was the highest was fairly consistent across countries. Stunting prevalence and gradient of the rise in stunting prevalence by age varied across world regions, countries, living standards and sex. Poorer countries and households had a higher prevalence at all ages and a sharper positive age gradient before age 2. Boys had higher stunting prevalence but had peak stunting prevalence at lower ages than girls. Stunting prevalence was similar for boys and girls after around age 45 months. These results suggest that programmes to prevent undernutrition and infections should focus on younger children to optimise impact in reducing stunting prevalence. Importantly, however, since some catch-up growth may be achieved after age 2, screening around this time can be beneficial.
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