Stunting in Iodine-Deficient Areas: How Does It Affect Mental Development in Children Under Two Years Old?

Background: Soil, water, and plants that grow in the highlands have a very low iodine content in nature. People living in these areas can suffer from iodine deficiency; in children under 5 years of age, the latter can induce mental and growth disorders. Objective: To assess correlations between characteristics of children and their mothers and mental development of children under two years of age living in iodine-deficient areas. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in rural areas of Magelang Regency involving 46 respondents to find the association between eight independent variables (knowledge, education, occupation and parenting style of the mother, sex, wasting, underweight, and stunting of children) and children’ mental development as a dependent variable using logistic regression. Results: Bivariate analysis showed that mother’s knowledge, as well as the child’s male sex and stunting correlated with mental development of children under the age of two (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that stunting had a significant effect on child developmental disorders. Conclusion: Stunted children under two years of age living in iodine-deficient areas are 11.588 times more likely to experience developmental delays than those without stunting.