Table 1 Characteristics of the children included in the study and association with stunting. Bivariate regression (n = 1204)

Socioeconomic characteristics

Family income

 Q4 – highest

287 (25.38)

133 (46.34)

1.0

1.0^a

 Q3

170 (15.03)

87 (51.18)

1.1 (0.91–1.33)

1.08 (0.8–1.46)

 Q2

277 (24.49)

151 (54.51)

1.17 (0.99–1.38)

1.07 (0.82–1.4)

 Q1 – lowest

397 (35.1)

235 (59.19)

1.27 (1.1–1.48)**

1.09 (0.84–1.42)

Mother’s schooling level

 University/College

64 (5.8)

22 (34.38)

1.0

1.0^a

 High-School

372 (33.73)

177 (47.58)

1.38 (0.97–1.97)

1.28 (0.77–2.12)

 Primary

639 (57.93)

365 (57.12)

1.66 (1.17–2.34)**

1.38 (0.83–2.29)

 Elementary

28 (2.54)

19 (67.86)

1.97 (1.29–3.01)**

1.40 (0.65–2.98)

Father’s schooling level

 University/College

91 (8.22)

37 (40.66)

1.0

1.0^a

 High-School

422 (38.12)

204 (48.34)

1.18 (0.91–1.55)

1.06 (0.7–1.59)

 Primary

536 (48.42)

313 (58.4)

1.43 (1.11–1.85)**

1.16 (0.76–1.75)

 Elementary/None

58 (5.24)

37 (63.79)

1.56 (1.14–2.15)**

1.46 (0.84–2.53)

Mother works

 No

632 (54.77)

319 (50.47)

1.0

1.0^a

 Yes

522 (45.23)

303 (58.05)

1.15 (1.03–1.27)*

1.18 (0.98–1.43)

Main roof material

 Concrete

328 (27.84)

150 (45.73)

1.0

1.0^a

 Asbestos (Eternit)

415 (35.23)

242 (58.31)

1.27 (1.1–1.47)**

1.16 (0.92–1.48)

 Zinc

327 (27.76)

174 (53.21)

1.16 (0.99–1.35)

0.99 (0.76–1.32)

 Tile/straw/other

108 (9.17)

66 (61.11)

1.33 (1.1–1.61)**

1.04 (0.72–1.51)

Main floor material

 Parquet/ceramic/floor tile/marble

132 (11.21)

62 (9.81)

1.0

1.0^a

 Cement/Wood

711 (60.36)

365 (57.75)

1.09 (0.89–1.32)

1.10 (0.81–1.52)

 Dirt

335 (28.44)

205 (32.44)

1.30 (1.06–1.59)**

1.18 (0.82–1.69)

Environmental

The water you receive is:

 Piped inside the house

499 (42.72)

239 (47.9)

1.0

1.0^b

 Piped outside the house, but inside the lot

596 (51.03)

355 (59.56)

1.24 (1.11–1.39)**

1.18 (0.98–1.42)

 Piped outside the lot

41 (3.51)

13 (31.71)

0.66 (0.41–1.04)

0.47 (0.22–1.03)

 No piped water

32 (2.74)

21 (65.63)

1.37 (1.04–1.78)*

1.38 (0.75–2.56)

The sanitary areas of the dwelling are

 Toilet connected to public sewerage system

449 (38.15)

225 (50.11)

1.0

1.0^b

 Toilet connected to septic tank

366 (31.1)

192 (52.46)

1.04 (0.91–1.19)

0.99 (0.8–1.24)

 Toilet connected to cesspool

221 (18.78)

135 (61.09)

1.21 (1.05–1.4)**

1.06 (0.82–1.36)

 Latrine

63 (5.35)

33 (52.38)

1.04 (0.81–1.34)

0.94 (0.6–1.47)

 No sanitary area

78 (6.63)

47 (60.26)

1.2 (0.98–1.47)

0.95 (0.64–1.41)

How is garbage disposed

 Public collection service

813 (69.37)

418 (51.41)

1.0

1.0^b

 Dumped in the street, ravine, river

10 (0.85)

6 (60)

1.16 (0.7–1.94)

1.12 (0.5–2.54)

 Burned, buried

349 (29.78)

204 (58.45)

1.13 (1.01–1.27)**

1.06 (0.86–1.3)

Overcrowding

 No

568 (48.8)

274 (48.24)

1

1.0

 Yes

596 (51.2)

353 (59.23)

1.22 (1.10–1.36)**

1.18 (1.08–1.41)*

Healthcare

Where did you give birth

 Health facility (public or private)

800 (70.24)

396 (49.5)

1.0

1.0^b

 At home with midwife, family member or alone

334 (29.32)

200 (59.88)

1.21 (1.08–1.35)**

1.12 (0.42–2.97)

 Other

5 (0.44)

4 (80)

1.61 (1.03–2.51)*

1.56 (0.45–5.46)

First check-up after birth

 Less than 1 week

290 (26.39)

140 (48.28)

1.0

1.0^b

 1 week

201 (18.29)

106 (52.74)

1.09 (0.91–1.3)

1.03 (0.72–1.49)

 2 or more weeks

584 (53.14)

313 (53.6)

1.11 (0.96–1.27)

1.11 (0.83–1.48)

 No control

24 (2.18)

18 (75)

1.55 (1.19–2.01)**

1.50 (0.34–6.67)

How long does it take to get to the health center?

 Less than 15 min

362 (30.78)

177 (48.9)

1.0

1.0^b

 15–30 min

493 (41.92)

257 (52.13)

1.06 (0.93–1.22)

1.01 (0.69–1.49)

 31–60 min

223 (18.96)

135 (60.54)

1.23 (1.06–1.43)**

1.07 (0.67 − 1.69)

 More than one hour

98 (8.33)

62 (63.27)

1.29 (1.07–1.55)**

0.98 (0.44–2.17)

Breastfeeding and Care Practices

To take your kid to a health facility, you ask the father for permission.

 No

784 (69.26)

400 (51.02)

1.0

1.0^c

 Yes

348 (30.74)

203 (58.33)

1.14 (1.02–1.27)*

1.09 (0.88–1.35)

To buy medicines for your kid, you need money from the father

 No

304 (26.97)

148 (48.68)

1.0

1.0^c

 Yes

823 (73.03)

451 (54.8)

1.12 (0.98–1.28)

1.33 (1–1.76)*

The father gave you money to support the kid on the last 12 months

 Yes

990 (88.63)

516 (52.12)

1.0

1.0^c

 No

127 (11.37)

79 (52.2)

1.19 (1.03–1.38)*

1.68 (1.19–2.38)**

Daily time spent preparing food

 More than 120 min

623 (53.29)

315 (50.56)

1.0

1.0^c

 From 61 to 119 min

123 (10.52)

63 (51.22)

1.01 (0.83–1.22)

0.97 (0.71–1.33)

 Up to 60 min

423 (36.18)

250 (59.1)

1.16 (1.04–1.30)**

1.02 (0.82–1.27)

Exclusive breastfeeding

 Yes

1044 (86.71)

552 (52.87)

1.0

 No

160 (13.29)

94 (58.75)

1.11 (0.96–1.28)

Introduction to food

 At 6 months

599 (51.86)

321 (53.59)

1.0

 More than 6 months

429 (37.14)

226 (52.68)

0.98 (0.87–1.10)

 Before 6 months

127 (11)

72 (56.69)

1.05 (0.89–1.25)

Food diversity (6 to 23 months)

 ≥ 4 food groups

206 (83.4)

99 (48.06)

1.0

 ≤ 4 food groups

41 (16.6)

18 (43.09)

0.91 (0.62–1.32)

Biological characteristics

Sex

 Male

603 (50.08)

344 (57.05)

1.0

1.0^d

 Female

601 (49.92)

302 (50.25)

0.88 (0.79–0.97)*

0.90 (0.74–1.08)

Age (months)

 0–12

61 (5.07)

21 (34.43)

1.0

1.0^d

 13–24

229 (19.02)

115 (50.22)

1.45 (1-2.11)*

1.52 (0.78–2.97)

 25–36

334 (27.74)

215 (64.37)

1.86 (1.31–2.66)**

1.99 (1.04–3.81)

 37–48

211 (17.52)

110 (52.13)

1.51 (1.04–2.19)*

1.66 (0.85–3.25)

 49–59

369 (30.65)

185 (50.14)

1.45 (1.01–2.08)*

1.58 (0.82–3.05)

Mother’s age

 13–25

477 (41.59)

234 (49.06)

1.0

1.0^d

 26–35

444 (38.71)

250 (56.31)

1.14 (1.01–1.29)*

1.07 (0.85–1.36)

 >36

226 (19.7)

129 (57.08)

1.16 (1.00-1.34)*

0.90 (0.64–1.29)

Mother’s height

 >= 150 cm

635 (52.74)

284 (44.74)

1.0

1.0^d

 <150 cm

569 (47.26)

362 (63.62)

1.42 (1.27–1.58)**

1.39 (1.15–1.68)**

Birth length

 Very large

139 (11.58)

52 (37.41)

1.0

1.0^d

 Average length

756 (63)

393 (51.98)

1.38 (1.11–1.74)**

1.41 (1–1.99)

 Very small

266 (22.17)

175 (65.79)

1.75 (1.39–2.21)***

1.68 (1.15–2.45)**

 Don’t know/don’t remember

39 (3.25)

24 (61.54)

1.64 (1.18–2.28)**

1.28 (0.45–3.63)

Number of children by mother

 1–2

683 (58.58)

326 (47.73)

1.0

1.0^d

 3–4

315 (27.02)

180 (57.14)

1.19 (1.05–1.35)**

1.06 (0.82–1.39)

 ≥5

168 (14.41)

116 (69.05)

1.44 (1.27–1.64)***

1.32 (0.91–1.92)

Diarrhea in the last 6 months

 None

529 (43.97)

269 (50.85)

1.0

1.0^d

 1 to 2 times

371 (30.84)

183 (49.33)

0.97 (0.84–1.11)

0.90 (0.71–1.15)

 More than 2 times

277 (23.03)

178 (64.26)

1.26 (1.11–1.42)***

1.10 (0.85–1.42)

 Don’t know

26 (2.16)

16 (61.54)

1.21 (0.88–1.65)

1.19 (0.52–2.75)

Times child has had parasites in the last year

 None

621 (68.62)

300 (48.31)

1.0

1.0^d

 1 to 2 times

262 (28.95)

159 (60.69)

1.25 (1.10–1.42)**

0.94 (0.72–1.22)

 More than twice

22 (2.43)

17 (77.27)

1.59 (1.25–2.03)**

0.87 (0.66–1.16)