Water and sanitation associated with improved child growth

Objective : To examine the relation between household water and sanitation, and the risk of stunting and reversal of stunting in Khartoum and Crezira regions Sudan. Design : Prospective cohort study. Setting : A total of 25 483 children aged 6–72 months from rural Sudan enrolled in an 18-month field trial in 1988 to study the effect of vitamin A supplementation on child health and survival. Results : The mean height-for-age z-scores at baseline and the end of study were −1.66 and −1.55, respectively, for the group with water and sanitation facilities, and −2.03 and −1.94 for the group without water and sanitation, after adjustment for age, region, gender, mother's literacy, intervention group (vitamin A vs placebo), family wealth, breastfeeding and cleanliness. Among children of normal height-for-age at baseline, the risk of stunting (