Assessing Malnutrition in Pregnant Women Using the Dietary Diversity Score and the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference: A Cross-Sectional Study, Zambia

The dietary diversity score (DDS) and the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) can be used to assess nutritional status. The DDS is a qualitative measure of food consumption reflecting an individual’s access to different food items and therefore a proxy indicator of the nutritional status. The aim of the study was to assess whether the dietary diversity score and MUAC can be used to assess the nutritional status of pregnant women attending antenatal. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at Chilenje level I Hospital in a township located in Lusaka city, Lusaka province. The study employed quantitative methods to collect and analyse data on the dietary patterns of individuals in the previous 24 hours before the survey. Health facilities were randomly selected and systematic sampling was used to select a sample of 299 pregnant women. An interview schedule was used to collect data. Median and interquartile range were used to compare demographic data. Spearman’s Correlation for two continuous variables was used to establish associations between DDS and the MUAC. The median age was 27 years. About 44% of the women were in the lowest dietary diversity category, indicating inadequate nutrient intake, 31% in the medium category and 24% in the high intake. Dietary diversity score was negatively correlated with mid-upper arm circumference (p = 0.1295). However, most of the women in the lower dietary diversity score category (75%) had a high mid-upper arm circumference meaning that their nutritional status was good. Dietary diversity score can be used to predict malnutrition in pregnant women. The mid-upper arm circumference was negatively correlated with the 24hour dietary diversity score implying that we might not rely on this measurement to assess the nutritional status.