Risk Factors of Malnutrition among Karen Children in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors of malnutrition and its association with iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among Karen hill tribe children. We conducted a study on blood samples from children from Baan Yang Poa School, Chiang Mai, Thailand aged between 9 and 15 years old. Of 193 children, 31 (16.1%) had malnutrition and 12 (6.2%) had IDA. Children who had at least five family members were found to have a significantly higher risk of malnutrition (P = 0.005), a reflection of the importance of socioeconomic factors in the problem of malnutrition. We also found that malnutrition was not associated with IDA although the assessment of the association of malnutrition and other types of anaemia is still of interest.