Background

Indonesia ranks second globally in tuberculosis prevalence and second in Southeast Asia for stunting. Special attention is needed for stunting in toddlers with tuberculosis.

Objectives

This study aims to identify the determinants of stunting among toddlers with tuberculosis.

Material and methods

This cross-sectional study used secondary data from the 2018 Basic Health Research Survey (Riskesdas). The study population included all toddlers aged 0–59 months diagnosed with tuberculosis who had complete anthropometric data. Of 72,625 toddlers in the dataset, 158 had tuberculosis, and 152 with complete data were included in the final analysis. The outcome variable was stunting, and 23 independent variables were included, covering demographic, birth history, infection status, health behavior, and socioeconomic and environmental factors. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify significant predictors of stunting.

Results

actors that increased the risk of stunting were age 0–23 months (OR: 2.25; 95% CI: 1.04–4.85), insufficient household illumination (OR: 4.53; 95% CI: 2.14–9.71), and the poorest socioeconomic status (OR: 21.67; 95% CI: 3.23–145.27). Conversely, low maternal education was protective against stunting (OR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.07–0.68). Maternal age at childbirth was not significantly associated with stunting (OR: 1.55; 95% CI: 0.71–3.34; p > 0.05).

Conclusions

This study highlights the need for interventions addressing housing conditions, especially lighting, and socioeconomic support to reduce stunting risk among TB-infected toddlers under two years of age.