Research Article
Socio-Demographic Determinants of the Combined Iron-Folate Deficient intake among Mothers and Children’s Dietary Diversity: A Cross-Sectional Study
Sultana A¹*, Betsy A², Rastogi P¹, Choudhary S¹ and Sharma S¹
1Department of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition, MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child, New Delhi.
2Nutrition Sciences, ITC Foods Business Division, ITC Limited, Bengaluru
2Nutrition Sciences, ITC Foods Business Division, ITC Limited, Bengaluru
*Corresponding author:Ms. Afreen Sultana, Department of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition, MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child, B-5, Greater Kailash Enclave II, Delhi-110048. E-mail Id: afreen@mamtahimc.in
Article Information:Submission: 17/09/2025; Accepted: 10/10/2025; Published: 14/10/2025
Copyright: © 2025 Sultana A, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Micronutrient-related malnutrition is a common public health problem in India, with most pregnant mothers consuming less than 50% of the recommended daily allowances of nutrients. Under-5 dietary diversity is equally poor, with 90% of them consuming less than 4 food groups a day. However,
there is a lack of research on the determinants of dual iron and folate deficiencies and under-5 dietary diversity among socially vulnerable populations. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of iron and folic acid deficiencies among pregnant, lactating, and non-pregnant, non-lactating (NPNL) women, the
dietary diversity score of children, and identify socio-demographic and anthropometric predictors associated with them.
Methods: It had a cross-sectional quantitative research study design. The study was conducted in the Valsad block of the Valsad district, Gujarat, India. We adopted a multi-stage random sampling to collect data using a semi-structured pre-validated questionnaire. We employed the logistic and Poisson regression techniques to find associations between predictors and the categorical outcome. The strength and the significance of the association were expressed as adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) or Incident Rate Ratio (IRR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI), and a p-value.
Results: A total of 1097 women were surveyed. The median (Interquartile Range, IQR) age of the women was 27 (25-30) years. The median (IQR) age of the child was 17 (32-45) months. Compared to the NPNL women, pregnant and lactating mothers had 1.29 higher odds of both iron and folate deficient intake (OR (95%CI); p-value: 1.289 (1.007, 1.570); <0.001). One kg increase in the weight of the child was associated with 2% increase in the dietary diversity score (IRR (95%CI); p-value: 1.003 (1.0007, 1.006); 0.01).
Conclusions: Women are deficient in most micronutrients, and pregnant women and lactating mothers are at a higher risk of dual iron-folate deficiencies.
Methods: It had a cross-sectional quantitative research study design. The study was conducted in the Valsad block of the Valsad district, Gujarat, India. We adopted a multi-stage random sampling to collect data using a semi-structured pre-validated questionnaire. We employed the logistic and Poisson regression techniques to find associations between predictors and the categorical outcome. The strength and the significance of the association were expressed as adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) or Incident Rate Ratio (IRR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI), and a p-value.
Results: A total of 1097 women were surveyed. The median (Interquartile Range, IQR) age of the women was 27 (25-30) years. The median (IQR) age of the child was 17 (32-45) months. Compared to the NPNL women, pregnant and lactating mothers had 1.29 higher odds of both iron and folate deficient intake (OR (95%CI); p-value: 1.289 (1.007, 1.570); <0.001). One kg increase in the weight of the child was associated with 2% increase in the dietary diversity score (IRR (95%CI); p-value: 1.003 (1.0007, 1.006); 0.01).
Conclusions: Women are deficient in most micronutrients, and pregnant women and lactating mothers are at a higher risk of dual iron-folate deficiencies.
Keywords:Food quality; diet; nutrients; anemia; diet diversity