Post‐flood nutritional anthropometry of children in Matlab, Bangladesh

The Matlab area was severely affected by the floods of 1988 in Bangladesh. To assess the impact of flooding in Matlab the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) performed post‐flood surveys. Six‐hundred households were surveyed. In addition, length, weight, and mid‐upper arm circumference were measured in children aged 6–35 months. Baseline economic status appeared to be higher inside the Matlab embankment, where the average material damage was worse. Anthropometry of children from inside and outside the embankment did not differ significantly for degree of flood damage. There was also no difference in these indicators between October and December, when post‐harvest improvement would normally occur. Analysis of indicators of household socio‐economic status revealed landlessness and lack of maternal education as significantly associated with lower child anthropometry. Female children and those 12–36 months also had lower mean percent of median anthropometric indices.