Association between socioeconomic and biological factors and infant weight gain: Brazilian Demographic

Objective: To examine the associations between socioeconomic and biological factors and infant weight gain. Methods: All infants (0-23 months of age) with available birth and postnatal weight data (n = 1763) were selected from the last nationally representative survey with complex probability sampling conducted in Brazil (2006/07). The outcome variable was conditional weight gain (CWG), which represents how much an individual has deviated from his/her expected weight gain, given the birth weight. Associations were estimated using simple and hierarchical multiple linear regression, considering the survey sampling design, and presented in standard deviations of CWG with their respective 95% of confidence intervals. Hierarchical models were designed considering the UNICEF Conceptual Framework for Malnutrition (basic, underlying and immediate causes). Results: The poorest Brazilian regions (-0.14 [-0.25; -0.04]) and rural areas (-0.14 [-0.26;0.02]) were inversely associated with CWG in the basic causes model. However, this association disappeared after adjusting for maternal and household characteristics. In the final hierarchical