ArticleJournal of health, population, and nutrition2026
The prevalence of undernutrition among children in Malaysia: the difference between conventional assessments and the composite index of anthropometric failure.
Article in Journal of health, population, and nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChild undernutrition remains a significant public health concern in Malaysia, with implications for long-term growth, development, and health outcomes. Conventional indicators of underweight (UW), stunting (ST), and wasting (WT), which are widely used, may underestimate the true burden. This study aims to assess the prevalence and risk factors of undernutrition among children under five in Malaysia using both traditional measures and the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF).
methodsA secondary analysis was conducted using data from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2022: Maternal and Child Health. Approximately 17,176 children under five were included in the study. Nutritional status was assessed using the WHO growth standards. The CIAF was applied to capture all forms of anthropometric failure. The complex sampling module in IBM SPSS 26 was used to analyse the data. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed to identify associated factors based on conventional indicators and CIAF classifications.
resultsThe prevalence of UW, ST, and WT was 15.3%, 21.2%, and 11.0%, respectively. The CIAF revealed an overall prevalence of undernutrition at 32.4% (95% CI: 31.0, 33.8), comprising 12.4% (95% CI: 11.5, 13.3) ST only, 4.9% (95% CI: 4.2, 5.7) WT only, and 1.8% (95% CI: 1.5, 2.1) UW only. Approximately 13.3% of the children exhibited more than one anthropometric failure. The determinants of underweight (region, strata, age, household income, and birth weight and length), stunting (region, strata, ethnicity, and birth weight and length), and wasting (region, age, sex, household income, and birth weight) varied, whereas the determinants for undernutrition based on the CIAF were region, strata, and birth weight and length.
conclusionThe CIAF offers a comprehensive representation by uncovering overlapping nutritional deficiencies that are often underestimated by conventional indicators. Integrating the CIAF into national monitoring systems could improve the precision of nutrition policies and ensure targeted, cost-effective interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.