Page 62 - ISMCON souvenir 2021

ISMSCON - 2021

OS25: THE MEDIATION EFFECT OF DIETARY INTAKE IN THE
ASSOCIATION OF WEALTH WITH UNDERNUTRITION

Authors: Franciosalgeo Jeswin Baby , L Naga Rajeev , Tinku Thomas 3
1
1,
2
1Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, St. John’s Research Institute, Koramangala, Bangalore.
2Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi
3Department of Biostatistics, St. John’s Medical College, Koramangala, Bangalore.
Email: franciosalgeo.g@sjri.res.in

Keywords: Stunting, Dietary intake, Wealth Index, Structural equation model
Introduction: The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data has revealed a significant and consistent
connection between family wealth and undernutrition. It is expected that a part of this association can
be explained by dietary nutrient intake. However, the association between dietary nutrient intake and
undernutrition at the national level is unavailable as there is no single nationally representative survey
data that gathers data on nutritional status and nutrient consumption.
Objectives: Examine the joint and decomposed effects of wealth index on stunting mediated through
dietary intake of protein and fat using structural equation modelling.
Methods: A synthetic data set of nutrient intake and nutritional status in children<5 years was created
by statistically matching households in NFHS-4 and National Sample Survey round 68 using the Non-
Iterative Bayesian Approach to Statistical Matching-NIBAS. The triangulated data of 149491 children
was used. Existing literature was used to construct directed acyclic graphs (DAG) for stunting (WHO
Height for Age standard<-2 SD). The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modelling,
examining the joint and decomposed effects of household wealth on stunting mediated through dietary
intake variables.

Results: The indirect effect of wealth index on stunting mediated through fat intake was significant (βfat:
-0.001, p<0.001). There was no effect of protein intake.

Conclusion: Within our study population, the effect of socioeconomic variables such as wealth index
on child undernutrition was found to be mediated though dietary fat intake. To provide more targeted
programmatic recommendations for improving socioeconomic background, the fact that a part of the total
effect is mediated through nutrient intake is to be considered and focus diverted on improving fat intake
in children under 5 years of age in India.

OS26: Differences in mental health services utilization across
caste and gender: A retrospective study from a tertiary-care

psychiatric institute in India

Hariom Pachori, Dr. Ranjan Kumar Sahoo, Dr. B. Das, Dr. Avinash Sharma,
Dr. Dipanjan Bhattacharjee

Abstract

Background: The Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), Ranchi is an apex mental health care institute
situated in the Jharkhand state of the Republic of India. This institute functions under the aegis of the
Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government
of India. In India mental health service utilization is still not symmetrical to all sections of the people.
Despite significant progress in the field of public health as well as mental health still many people tend

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