EFFECT OF STUNTING ON GROSS MOTOR AND FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN AGED 6-24 MONTHS

Abstract

Lack of nutritional intake during the golden period results in malnutrition; one of which is stunting.  In stunted children, motor development disorders are associated with inhibition of the process of muscle maturity, so that the ability to move muscles is impaired.  With early detection, deviations in child development can be noticed early; as a result, efforts to improve motor skills in these children can be given in a timely manner.  This study aimed to determine the effect of stunting on motor development.  The study used a cross-sectional design applied to a sample of children aged 6-24 months living in Pasuruan.  Purposive sampling method was utilized to recruit 120 children with the following inclusion criteria: aged 6-24 months, lived in Pasuruan and there was a parent or guardian who was willing to participate in the study.  Those with special needs, acute respiratory infection, hearing loss and visual disturbances were excluded.  Stunting was measured using height for age while motor development was assessed using Denver Development Screening Test II (DDST II) screening sheet.  Subjects obtained as many as 120 children with 35.8% of children aged under one year  (6-12 months).  There more boys than girls (50.8%).  The prevalence of stunting is 28.3%.  A total of 21.7% of children had impaired gross motor development and 14.2% had impaired fine motor development.  The results of chi-square test, showed that the incidence of stunting is a variable that has a significant effect on gross motor development (OR = 2.805; 95% CI: 1.133-6.947; p=0.023) and fine motor development (OR = 4.702; 95% CI: 1.615-13.688; p=0.007).  Gender and age variables had no significant influence on either gross motor development or on fine motor development.