{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T11:47:56Z","timestamp":1788868076491,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,2]],"date-time":"2025-05-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746144000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100015747","name":"University Grant Commission (UGC), Bangladesh","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["research grant scheme for public university teacher (2022-23)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["research grant scheme for public university teacher (2022-23)"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100015747","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Maternal mental health and other underlying factors might affect a child\u2019s nutritional status. This study assesses child undernutrition and its associated characteristics, including maternal mental health, in low-income settings in Dhaka, Bangladesh.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 397 lactating mothers with children aged 6\u201323 months from low-income settings in Dhaka. Anthropometric measurements were taken following standard protocols, and Z-scores for weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age were calculated. Maternal depression and anxiety were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale, respectively. The child feeding index was developed based on breastfeeding, dietary diversity, and meal frequency. Multivariate logistic regression models explored the relationship between child undernutrition and maternal mental health and other risk factors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In low-income regions of Dhaka, the prevalence was 31.9% for stunting, 14.0% for wasting, and 24.1% for underweight children. Approximately half of the mothers experienced depression (55%) and anxiety (50%). High maternal depression levels were associated with increased odds of stunted (AOR\u2009=\u20091.80, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.10\u20132.94, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.05) and wasted (AOR\u2009=\u20092.70, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.38\u20135.28, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.05) children. Similarly, anxiety was linked to a higher risk of underweight children (AOR\u2009=\u20091.77, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.04\u20133.11, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.05). Female children had approximately twice the risk of stunting than boys (AOR\u2009=\u20092.13, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.32\u20133.44, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.01). Younger maternal age also doubled the risk of stunting (AOR\u2009=\u20091.97, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.20\u20133.22, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.01). Low adherence to a feeding index increased the odds of stunting (AOR\u2009=\u20093.21, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.99\u20135.16, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.001) and underweight (AOR\u2009=\u20094.20, 95% CI\u2009=\u20092.50\u20137.07, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.01). Children born to underweight mothers were almost twice as likely to become underweight (AOR\u2009=\u20092.01, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.01\u20134.03, p\u2009&lt;\u20090.05) compared to those born to normal\/overweight mothers.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Maternal depression and anxiety adversely affect the nutrition of their children. Sociodemographic factors such as the child\u2019s sex, maternal age, maternal health, and child feeding practices significantly contribute to child undernutrition. Policy initiatives should prioritize maternal mental health and address child undernutrition in these settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0322507","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,2]],"date-time":"2025-05-02T13:29:47Z","timestamp":1746192587000},"page":"e0322507","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Child undernutrition is associated with maternal mental health and other sociodemographic factors in low-income settings in Dhaka, Bangladesh"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6982-4951","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kazi Muhammad Rezaul","family":"Karim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Md 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Moshi, Northern Tanzania: cohort study","volume":"16","author":"R Masuke","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"pone.0322507.ref038","first-page":"e366\u2013e377","article-title":"Association between maternal age at childbirth and child and adult outcomes in the offspring: a prospective study in five low-income and middle-income countries (COHORTS collaboration)","volume":"3","author":"CHD Fall","year":"2015","journal-title":"Lancet Glob Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0322507.ref039","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1\u20135","DOI":"10.1186\/s13104-018-3980-7","article-title":"Young maternal age is a risk factor for child undernutrition in Tamale Metropolis, Ghana","volume":"11","author":"A Wemakor","year":"2018","journal-title":"BMC Res Notes"}],"container-title":["PLOS 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