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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

Exploring the association between low birth weight and different forms of child malnutrition: A multi-country propensity score matching analysis in South Asia

  • Md Parvej Hussain1
  • Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman2
  • Md Rezaul Kader3
  • Md Robiul Islam Talukder4
  • Md Tareq Ferdous Khan5
  • Foyez Ahmmed6
6 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Economics, Chittagong University, Chittagong, Bangladesh
  2. 2Department of Statistics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  3. 3Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America
  4. 4Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
  5. 5Clemson University School of Health Research, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
  6. 6Department of Statistics, Comilla University, Kotbari, Cumilla, Bangladesh
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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.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{hussain2026exploring,
  title = {{Exploring the association between low birth weight and different forms of child malnutrition: A multi-country propensity score matching analysis in South Asia}},
  author = {Md Parvej Hussain and Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman and Md Rezaul Kader and Md Robiul Islam Talukder and Md Tareq Ferdous Khan and Foyez Ahmmed},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358877},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358877},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Exploring the association between low birth weight and different forms of child malnutrition: A multi-country propensity score matching analysis in South Asia
AU  - Md Parvej Hussain
AU  - Mohammod Mahmudur Rahman
AU  - Md Rezaul Kader
AU  - Md Robiul Islam Talukder
AU  - Md Tareq Ferdous Khan
AU  - Foyez Ahmmed
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/21
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358877
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358877
AB  - 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.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -