Socio-economic Predictors of Stunting in Pre-school Children - a population-based study from Johannesburg and Soweto

This study aims to investigate a range of household-level socio-economic and social support predictors of stunting in children aged less than 30 months. Logical regression models were constructed using a conceptual framework to investigate the association between early life measures of socio-economic status and stunting, using data collected in the Birth to Twenty study.

Stunting and child malnutrition remain policy priorities for the South African Department of Health, and this study suggests that policies that aim to increase parental education level and reduce unemployment or target additional support to families with low education or unemployed parents may reduce stunting in preschool-age children in this setting.