Girl child marriage, socioeconomic status, and undernutrition: evidence from 35 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Girl child marriage, a formal union of a female before age 18, and undernutrition remain common in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study is to establish the extent to which girl child marriage contributes to socioeconomic status and underweight, a measure of undernutrition, among adult women.

Methods

We used data from 103 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), representing 35 African countries from 1991 to 2014. Girl child marriage was coded both as a binary variable (before 18 years) and categorical variable (before 14, 14 to 15 years, 16 to 17 years). The primary outcome was underweight (body mass index less than 18·5). Secondary outcomes were early and multiple childbearing, secondary education completion, and wealth index. Logistic regression models were us

SUBMITTER: Efevbera Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6407221 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature