Association of minimum dietary diversity with anaemia among 6-59 months' children from rural India: An evidence from a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Anaemia is one of the micronutrient deficiency disorders that have global public health implications. The present study aims to determine the association of minimum dietary diversity (MDD) with anaemia among children aged 6-59 months in rural North India. Methods: In Rohtak (a north Indian city), a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2018-19 (n = 266). Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed. The Chi-square test was used for assessing the significance level during bivariate analysis. Further, multivariable regression analysis was used for determining the factors for anaemia prevalence among children aged 6-59 months. Results: About 62.4% (n = 166) of the children aged 6-59 months were found to have anaemia in the study area. The prevalence of MDD was 35.3% (n = 94). It was found that children with no MDD have a higher prevalence of moderate (42% vs. 25.5%; P < 0.001) and severe (12.8% vs. 8.5%; P < 0.001) anaemia. It was revealed that the children with no MDD had a significantly higher likelihood of being anaemic than children with MDD in model-1 [aOR: 2.09; CI: 1.23, 3.55] and model-3 [aOR: 1.70; CI: 1.01, 3.01]. Children with mothers who never attended school had significantly higher odds for anaemia in reference to those children whose mothers ever attended school in model-2 [aOR: 3.62; CI: 2.07,6.34] and model-3 [aOR: 3.00; CI: 1.62,5.56]. Conclusion: Measures to alleviate under-five anaemia should include empowering and educating women, expanding access to supplementation, fortification programmes, and promoting and raising awareness about feeding diverse foods, while also considering the socioeconomic status.