ArticleBMC public health2023
Relationship of stunting with water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices among children under the age of five: a cross-sectional study in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.
Article in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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13 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Women's Empowerment, WaSH, and Child Feeding: Implications for Childhood Stunting in South Asia.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Determinants and district-level variation in childhood undernutrition in Sindh, Pakistan: evidence from MICS 2018.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- Household water, sanitation, and hygiene access and its impact on nutritional outcomes in children under five: evidence from Pakistan.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Hand-washing practices at critical times in relation to childhood illnesses and under-nutrition among caregivers in Rongai sub-county, Kenya.African health sciences · 2026Article
- Systems biology insights into the molecular drivers of childhood stunting and implications for intervention.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Exploring the multifactorial predictors of stunting in children under five: A systematic review of the literature, 2015-2024.Journal of public health research · 2025Review
- Preschoolers in severely food insecure Guatemalan Mayan households consume a monotonous grain-based diet.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Effect of a 6-Month Functional Food Intervention on the Microbiota of Stunted Children in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia-A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Parallel Trial.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The accuracy of a novel stunting risk detection application based on nutrition and sanitation indicators in children aged under five years.BMC nutrition · 2025Article
- The forgotten link: how the oral microbiome shapes childhood growth and development.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Review
- Water, sanitation, and hygiene and their association with child undernutrition: a hierarchical analysis of the 2020 Somaliland demographic health survey.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Intergenerational chronic undernutrition pattern and determinants in Ethiopia: a multilevel and spatial analysis of EDHS data (2000-2016).Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Assessment of water, hygiene, and sanitation practice and associated factors among Bihari refugee camp in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study.Health science reports · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundReasons for undernutrition are food insufficiency, impaired child care, limited access to healthcare, and maternal lack of health literacy. In addition, there are several environmental factors, such as drinking water quality, poor sanitation, and hygienic practices that can lead to poor nutritional status in children. The present study aimed to compare household-associated risk factors, including water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices of mothers, with children's stunting under the age of five.
methodsA face-to-face cross-sectional survey was conducted with mothers of children under the age of five in the Dera Ghazi Khan district in southern Punjab, Pakistan. World Health Organization criteria for stunting were used to identify the participants. A sociodemographic questionnaire was used to collect information from consented parents/guardians on children's age, feeding, and WASH practices. Pearson's chi-square, simple regression, and hierarchical regression models were applied for data analysis.
resultsA total of 204 mothers of children of both genders participated in this study. The children's mean (SD) age was 15.67 (± 10.2) months, their weight was 5.44 (± 1.45) kg, their height was 67.69 (± 10.05), and their mid-upper arm circumference was 9.75 (± 1.30) cm. Children's stunting was mild (z-score > -2) at 17.6%, moderate (z-score - 2 to -3) at 16.7%, and severe (z-score < -3) at 65.7% of participants. A simple regression model showed a strong association, r
conclusionStunting can be associated with several risk factors, including WASH parameters. This study concluded that children aged under five years are susceptible to stunting in southern Punjab, Pakistan. The contamination of hand pumps and tank water resources was found to be the major contributing factor to stunting.
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