COVID-19 Pandemic
Exploring the Nutritional Impact of India’s First COVID-19 Lockdown: Was it equitable? Anushka Reddy Marri* Anushka Reddy Marri Madolyn Dauphinais Leonardo Martinez C. Finn McQuaid Pranay Sinha
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic likely exacerbated nutritional disparities in India. Using data from the 5th National Family Health Survey, we explored the equity impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on nutritional indicators.
Methods: After stratifying the data into pre-lockdown (June 2019–March 2020) and post-lockdown (June 2020–April 2021) periods, we used logistic regression models to evaluate changes in nutritional indicators (undernutrition, anemia, and wasting) across wealth index quintiles for women, men, and children. We further analyzed these indicators using concentration curves and indices.
Results: Post-lockdown, there was an increase in the prevalence of undernutrition in women (OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.04–1.07) and men (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.03–1.11) and wasting in children (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.04–1.09). Stratifying by wealth quintiles, undernutrition increased disproportionately in lower quintiles for women (OR (95% CI): 1.17 (1.14-1.20) in Quintile 1 (Q1); 0.90 (0.87-0.93) in Quintile 5 (Q5)) and men (OR (95% CI): 1.08 (1.01-1.17) in Q1; 0.95 (0.86-1.05) in Q5), as well as wasting in children (OR (95% CI): 1.16 (1.12-1.21) in Q1; 0.97 (0.93-1.01) in Q5) (see figure 1). Anemia prevalence decreased overall, with smaller reductions in Q1 and Q5. The discrepancies by wealth quintiles were evident in concentration curves and indices, highlighting the unequal burden across socioeconomic groups.
Discussion: Our findings highlight increased disparities in nutritional indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, disproportionately affecting the economically disadvantaged. These inequities reflect immediate food insecurity impacts and signal long-term risks for diseases like TB, HIV, and pneumonia, that are worsened by malnutrition. Addressing nutritional inequalities through equitable resource distribution and targeted interventions is critical now, more than ever, to protect vulnerable populations from the ongoing health effects.
