(P24-055-24) Association Between Maternal and Child Dietary Diversity: A Cross-Sectional Study of Adolescent Mothers and Their Children in Ghana

Objectives: A nutritionally adequate diet is critical for the optimal growth and development of adolescent mothers and their children. We examined the association between the dietary diversity of 15-19-year-old adolescent mothers and their 6-23-mo-old children in Ghana.

Methods: As part of the Healthy Adolescent Nutrition in Ghana (HANIG) study, we enrolled adolescent mothers with children aged 5yrs and below residing in communities in and around the Cape Coast Metropolitan area. Using the Diet Quality Questionnaire for Ghana, adolescent mothers reported on their own and their children’s consumption of different food groups during the past 24 hours. The food groups were used to compose Dietary Diversity Scores (DDS, maternal, 0-10 food groups; child 0-8 food groups) and Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD; DDS ≥5). We also collected sociodemographic and food insecurity data. This current analysis included data from adolescent mothers with children aged 6-23 months (n=94). We used linear regression to examine the association between maternal DDS and child DDS, adjusting for relevant covariates.

Results: On average, mothers were aged 18±0.9 years and were less likely to be employed (24%) or attending school (16%). Majority of the adolescent mothers lived with their parents (57%) and reported several or many experiences with food insecurity (68%). Children were 13±4.7 mo old on average. The average DDS was 4.7±1.7 for mothers and 3.8±1.6 for children. Minimum dietary diversity was achieved by 55.9% of the mothers and 33% of children. We found a strong positive association between maternal DDS and child DDS in both unadjusted and adjusted analysis (p < 0.001). A difference of one food group in mother’s consumption was associated with a difference of 0.30 groups in child’s consumption, adjusting for household food insecurity and child age.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the inadequacy of diet consumed by adolescent mothers and their children in this Ghanaian population. However, the positive association between maternal and child dietary diversity suggests the importance of maternal dietary habits in shaping those of their children. Interventions aimed at promoting diversity of diets among adolescent mothers may have the potential to positively impact the diet diversity of their children.

Funding Sources: Oklahoma State University