Association between malnutrition and anemia in under-five children and women of reproductive age: Evidence from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011

BACKGROUND: Bangladesh is one of the most anemia prone countries in South Asia. Children of age under five years and women of reproductive age are particularly vulnerable in this region. Although several studies have investigated the risk factors of anemia, only few have explored its association with malnutrition, despite its high prevalence in the same group. The objective of this paper is to investigate the association of malnutrition with anemia by conducting separate analyses for under-five children and women of reproductive age using data from the nationally representative 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. METHODS: Two binary outcome variables are considered separately: presence of anemia in children under five years of age (Hb<11.0 g/dl) and presence of anemia in women…