Inayat H Thaver.
Determinants of undernutrition in infants in the urban squatter settlements (Katchi Abadis) of Karachi, Pakistan.
Pak Paed J Jan ;20(1):21-7.

A Socio-medical scientific approach is necessary to study the determinants of infants health status. A clear distinction should be made between "etiologic-specific causes" in an individual and "determinants" in the population. The main objectives of this study were to find out and select the most important determinants of growth faltering in infants residing in urban squatter settlements in Karachi, Pakistan. 212 families were studied by interviewing the mothers looking at the five major categories of socio-medical determinants, along with anthropometric assessment of their infants. A highly significant association (P < 0.05) of undernutrition was seen in infants over 6 months of age, in female infants and in children born to those families who scored LOW on the Dharavi based socio-economic scoring system. A high attributable Risk (29%) of undernutrition due to low socioeconomic conditions of families raises the following question:- Is it the knowledge, attitude and practices of Traditional and Rural Urbanits who are both poor and illiterate or is it poverty itself which leads to the undernutrition in their infants?

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