Factors associated with low birth weight in Nepal using multiple imputation |
Authors: |
Usha Singh, Attachai Ueranantasun, and Metta Kuning |
Source: |
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth , 17:67; DOI 10.1186/s12884-017-1252-5 |
Topic(s): |
Birth weight
|
Country: |
Asia
Nepal
|
Published: |
FEB 2017 |
Abstract: |
Background: Survey data from low income countries on birth weight usually pose a persistent problem. The
studies conducted on birth weight have acknowledged missing data on birth weight, but they are not included in
the analysis. Furthermore, other missing data presented on determinants of birth weight are not addressed. Thus,
this study tries to identify determinants that are associated with low birth weight (LBW) using multiple imputation
to handle missing data on birth weight and its determinants.
Methods: The child dataset from Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 2011 was utilized in this study. A
total of 5,240 children were born between 2006 and 2011, out of which 87% had at least one measured variable
missing and 21% had no recorded birth weight. All the analyses were carried out in R version 3.1.3. Transform-then
impute method was applied to check for interaction between explanatory variables and imputed missing data.
Survey package was applied to each imputed dataset to account for survey design and sampling method. Survey
logistic regression was applied to identify the determinants associated with LBW.
Results: The prevalence of LBW was 15.4% after imputation. Women with the highest autonomy on their own health
compared to those with health decisions involving husband or others (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.87, 95% confidence
interval (95% CI) = 1.31, 2.67), and husband and women together (adjusted OR 1.57, 95% CI = 1.05, 2.35) were less likely
to give birth to LBW infants. Mothers using highly polluting cooking fuels (adjusted OR 1.49, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.22) were
more likely to give birth to LBW infants than mothers using non-polluting cooking fuels.
Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested that obtaining the prevalence of LBW from only the sample of
measured birth weight and ignoring missing data results in underestimation.
Keywords: Multiple imputation, Low birth weight, Survey package and Transform-then impute |
Web: |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5319159/ |
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