Risk factors for the prevalence of anemia in children aged 6–59 months at different levels in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Anemia is a global public health concern affecting both developed and developing nations. Anemia in children aged 6–59 months remains a severe public health problem in Ethiopia; it affects an estimated 56% of children under age 5 years, 23% of women of reproductive age, and 18% of adult men. Thus, the major goal of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with the prevalence of anemia among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopia. Samples of 7795 children were taken from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey Data, using a stratified two-stage cluster sampling design. Our sample revealed 60% of children were anemic. Region of residence has a notable effect on the prevalence of anemia. In the Somali region, 81.9% of children were anemic, in the Amhara region 42.4% were anemic, and these are the highest and lowest observed rates. We employed hierarchical models in two levels; children level and region level. A random coefficient model, a model with a random slope for children-level predictors, and a fixed effect for region-level predictor best fit the anemia data and it was considered for final analysis. Results showed that the age of children, child-size at birth, age of mother, and mother’s history of anemia were significant factors for the prevalence of anemia at the children level. Anemic mothers were more likely to have anemic children. While the risk factors for the prevalence of anemia at the regional level were a place of residence and wealth index. Being in rural areas and has poor households have a higher risk of anemia.