PDF(Sci-hub)
Abstract：
Poor rural areas in China exhibit the country\'s highest rates of child mortality, often stemming from preventable health conditions such as diarrhea and respiratory infection. In this study, we investigate the association between breastfeeding and disease among children aged 6⁻24 months in poor rural counties in China. To do this, we conducted a longitudinal, quantitative analysis of socioeconomic demographics, health outcomes, and breastfeeding practices for 1802 child⁻caregiver dyads across 11 nationally designated poverty counties in southern Shaanxi Province in 2013⁻2014. We found low rates of continued breastfeeding that decreased as children developed: from 58.2% at 6⁻12 months, to 21.6% at 12⁻18 months, and finally to 5.2% at 18⁻24 months. These suboptimal rates are lower than all but one other country in the Asia-Pacific region. We further found that only 18.3% of children 6⁻12 months old met the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended threshold for minimum dietary diversity, defined as consuming four or more of seven specific food groups. Breastfeeding was strongly associated with lower rates of both diarrhea and cough in bivariate and multivariate analyses. As the first analysis to use longitudinal data to examine the relationship between continued breastfeeding and child illness in China, our study confirms the need for programmatic interventions that promote continued breastfeeding in order to improve toddler health in the region.
摘要：
中国贫困农村地区儿童死亡率最高，通常源于可预防的健康状况，如腹泻和呼吸道感染。在这项研究中,我们调查了中国农村贫困县6~24个月儿童母乳喂养与疾病之间的关系。要做到这一点，我们进行了纵向，社会经济人口统计学的定量分析，健康结果，2013-2014年，陕西省11个国家指定贫困县的1802名儿童照顾者双体母乳喂养实践。我们发现，随着儿童的发展，持续母乳喂养的比例较低：从6-12个月的58.2％，在12-18个月时达到21.6%，最终在18-24个月时达到5.2%。这些次优率低于亚太地区除一个国家以外的所有国家。我们进一步发现，只有18.3％的6-12个月大的儿童达到了世界卫生组织（WHO）推荐的最低饮食多样性阈值，定义为消耗七个特定食物组中的四个或更多个。在双变量和多变量分析中，母乳喂养与腹泻和咳嗽的发生率较低密切相关。作为首次使用纵向数据来检验中国持续母乳喂养与儿童疾病之间关系的分析，我们的研究证实,有必要采取计划干预措施,促进持续母乳喂养,以改善该地区幼儿的健康状况.
