Prevalence and Factors Associated with Chronic Energy Deficiency among Adolescent Girls and Young Mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background Adolescent girls and young mothers (AGYM) have high nutritional needs, which puts them at risk of malnutrition. In particular, little is known about the prevalence and determinants of chronic energy deficiency (CED) of AGYM, which received less attention among researchers in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence and associated factors of CED among AGYM in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Data from the latest demographic and health surveys in four countries were used for this study: Gabon, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria. Chronic energy deficiency, the outcome variable referred to as Body Mass Index (BMI), is classified as underweight for AGYM, whose BMI is less than 18.5kg/m2 according to the global standards established by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) . Data analysis was done in three stages: descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable. Results The prevalence of chronic energy deficiency among AGYM was 7.2% in Malawi, 13.4% in Gabon, 14.9% in Kenya and 15.4% in Nigeria. The extent of chronic energy deficiency was particularly high among adolescent girls aged 15-19 in Gabon, AGYMs with no education in Nigeria and Kenya, and AGYMs from poor households in Nigeria, suggesting the necessity to provide systematic food rations to AGYMs of these specific groups. Finally, multivariable analysis shows that there are reduced odds of suffering from chronic energy deficiency among AGYM aged 20-24 years in Gabon and Kenya, compared with 15-19-year-olds. It is also revealed that education was negatively associated with chronic energy deficiency of AGYM in Nigeria and Kenya. Conclusion Mothers, particularly girls and young mothers, need more economic programmes to safeguard their reproductive rights through the promotion of nutritional information. This information is key for their nutritional protection, particularly for teenage girls (aged 15-19), the uneducated, and those living in poor households.