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Accepted manuscript

Iron-rich foods consumption and its associated factors among children aged 6–23 months in South and Southeast Asia: A Multilevel Analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 December 2025

Melaku Tadege Engidaw Open the ORCID record for Melaku Tadege Engidaw [Opens in a new window] ,
Prasenjit Mondal ,
Patricia Lee ,
Qonita Rachmah Open the ORCID record for Qonita Rachmah [Opens in a new window]  and
Faruk Ahmed
Melaku Tadege Engidaw*
Affiliation:
Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, QLD 4222, Australia Department of Public Health (Human Nutrition), College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
Prasenjit Mondal
Affiliation:
Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, QLD 4222, Australia
Patricia Lee
Affiliation:
Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, QLD 4222, Australia Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan.
Qonita Rachmah
Affiliation:
Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, QLD 4222, Australia Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia.
Faruk Ahmed
Affiliation:
Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, QLD 4222, Australia
*
*Corresponding Author: meltad24@gmail.com
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Abstract

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Objective:

This study assessed iron-rich food consumption and its factors among children aged 6–23 months in South and Southeast Asia.

Design:

A cross-sectional study from the Standard Demographic and Health Survey (2015-2022).

Setting:

South and Southeast Asian countries.

Subjects:

Data collected from 95,515 children aged 6 to 23 months, including information from their parents or caregivers.

Results:

The overall proportion of children, aged 6 to 23 months, consuming iron-rich foods in the region was 29.87% (95% CI: 29.58, 30.16). Higher odds of iron-rich food consumption were observed among children aged 12–23 months (AOR = 3.59; 95% CI: 3.45–3.76), had history of exclusive breastfeeding (AOR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.12–1.23), born to teenage motherhood (AOR = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.02–1.17), born in health institution (AOR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02–1.19), and had pregnant mother at the time of the survey (AOR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.50–1.72). Children of birth order 2–4 (AOR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.20–1.32) and 5+ (AOR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.18–1.43), from female-headed households (AOR = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.01–1.12), and those with household mass media exposure (AOR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.19–1.36) also had significantly higher odds of iron-rich food consumption. Additionally, higher odds ratios (AOR > 1) of iron-rich food consumption were observed in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Philippines, Pakistan, and Timor-Leste.

Conclusion:

Across countries, only about 30% of children consumed iron-rich foods, with significant variation. Targeted public health efforts are essential to address maternal, child, and household factors that influence intake.

Keywords

Iron-rich foodsConsumptionIron deficiency anaemiaChildrenSouth and Southeast Asia

Information

Type
Research Paper
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 31
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society