{
  "abstract": "This study investigated the association between low birth weight (LBW) and various forms of child malnutrition across five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and the Maldives). Data from the most recent demographic and health surveys were analyzed. Propensity score matching was applied to evaluate the association between LBW and five forms of child malnutrition: stunting, wasting, underweight, at least one form of child malnutrition (AOFOCM), and multiple concurrent forms of child malnutrition (MCFOCM). Subgroup analyses were performed to assess variability in effects across the countries studied. Analysis of 147,332 complete cases revealed an overall LBW prevalence of 16.23%, with country-specific prevalences of 13.67% (Bangladesh), 16.32% (India), 18.97% (Pakistan), 11.94% (Nepal), and 12.86% (Maldives). Regression analyses of matched samples revealed significant associations between LBW and all five forms of malnutrition. Subgroup analyses also revealed a significant association between LBW and all five forms of malnutrition across the five countries, with the exception of wasting, for which no statistically significant association was observed in Bangladesh and the Maldives. These findings emphasize the importance of context-specific interventions targeting LBW to reduce child malnutrition in South Asia, while taking the observational design and cross-country variability into consideration.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Economics, Chittagong University, Chittagong, Bangladesh",
    "Department of Statistics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh",
    "Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America",
    "Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America",
    "Clemson University School of Health Research, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America",
    "Department of Statistics, Comilla University, Kotbari, Cumilla, Bangladesh"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Md Parvej Hussain"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Md Rezaul Kader"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Md Robiul Islam Talukder"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Md Tareq Ferdous Khan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Foyez Ahmmed"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3betvd84cxckm.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0358877",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3betvd84cxckm",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358877",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2916|Child Nutrition and Water Access"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Nutrition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Nutrition/Malnutrition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological parameters/Body weight"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological parameters/Body weight/Birth weight"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Nutrition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Nutrition/Malnutrition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pediatrics/Child health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Child health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Geographical locations/Asia"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Geographical locations/Asia/Pakistan"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Children"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Families/Children"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213946342",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0358877&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-21",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3betvd84cxckm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0358877",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358877"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:nutrition",
      "subfield": "nutrition"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:physiology",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Exploring the association between low birth weight and different forms of child malnutrition: A multi-country propensity score matching analysis in South Asia",
  "title_text": "Exploring the association between low birth weight and different forms of child malnutrition: A multi-country propensity score matching analysis in South Asia",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3betvd84cxckm",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}