Influence factors of height and weight in rural left-behind children aged 5 years

Objective To explore influence factors of height and weight in rural left-behind children (LBC) aged ≤ 5 years.Methods Information on all rural children aged ≤ 5 years were extracted from the Database of 5th National Health Services Survey (2013) in Hebei province to describe the status quo of height and the weight of the children.Then the LBC with abnormal and normal height or weight were assigned into a case and a control group and the influence factors for height and weight were compared between the two groups.Results Compared to non-left-behind children (non-LBC),the LBC showed significantly higher ratios of growth retardation (78.15% vs.18.88%,χ²=374.90; P<0.01) and malnutrition (53.33% vs.9.07%,χ²=262.01; P<0.01).Multivariate analyses revealed that the maternal migration for working (odds ratioOR=26.05,P=0.006) and the abnormal weight (OR=3.85,P<0.01) were the risk factors of abnormal growth of LBC and higher per capita net income in a family may contribute to the normal weight of LBC (OR=0.46,P=0.004); the abnormal height was a risk factor against normal weight increase in LBC (OR=2.60,P<0.01).Conclusion Maternal migration for working is an important risk factor against normal growth while better familial economic status is a promoting factor for weight increase among rural LBC less than 5 years old in Hebei province.There is an interactive relationship between height and weight among infants and small children in rural areas of Hebei province.