Background Malnutrition among adolescents is a considerable health problem worldwide. There are scarce data on undernutrition among adolescents in Sudan. Methods A cross‑sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of stunting and thinness among adolescent schoolchildren in northern Sudan. The questionnaires were used to collect information on sociodemographics. Weights and heights were measured and the height-for-age and body mass index-for-age cut-offs recommended by the WHO were applied, followed by logistic regression analysis. Results Of 384 enrolled adolescents, 202 (52.6%) were females and 182 (47.4%) were males. The median (IQR) age of these adolescents was 15.1 (14.0‒16.3) y. Seventy-six (19.8%) and 52 (15.4%) adolescents had stunting and thinness, respectively, and 15 (3.9%) had both stunting and thinness. Multivariate analysis showed that increased age (adjusted OR [AOR]=1.30, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.57) and male gender (AOR=5.82, 95% CI 3.11 to 10.91) were associated with stunting. Male gender (AOR=2.08, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.82) and smoking/tobacco snuff (AOR=2.61, 95% CI 1.07 to 6.36) were associated with thinness. Conclusions The findings of the current study are that both stunting and thinness are important health problems, especially among boys, older participants and smokers.

中文翻译：

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苏丹青少年学童发育迟缓和瘦弱的患病率及相关因素：一项横断面研究

背景 青少年营养不良是世界范围内一个严重的健康问题。关于苏丹青少年营养不良的数据很少。方法进行了一项横断面研究，调查苏丹北部青少年学童发育迟缓和瘦弱的患病率及其相关因素。调查问卷用于收集社会人口统计信息。测量体重和身高，并应用世界卫生组织推荐的年龄别身高和年龄体重指数临界值，然后进行逻辑回归分析。结果 384 名入组青少年中，女性 202 名（52.6%），男性 182 名（47.4%）。这些青少年的中位年龄 (IQR) 为 15.1 (14.0-16.3) 岁。76 名（19.8%）和 52 名（15.4%）青少年分别患有发育迟缓和消瘦，15 名（3.9%）青少年同时患有发育迟缓和消瘦。多变量分析显示，年龄增加（调整后 OR [AOR]=1.30，95% CI 1.08 至 1.57）和男性（AOR=5.82，95% CI 3.11 至 10.91）与发育迟缓相关。男性（AOR=2.08，95% CI 1.14 至 3.82）和吸烟/烟草鼻烟（AOR=2.61，95% CI 1.07 至 6.36）与瘦弱相关。结论 目前的研究结果表明，发育迟缓和瘦弱都是重要的健康问题，尤其是男孩、老年参与者和吸烟者。