Child marriage: a major risky behavior in developing egyptian governorates

Background: Marriage timing is one of the important determinants of birth rates and health profile of both the mothers and infants. Child marriage is recognized as a major development issue that affects girls in many developing countries. The practice has been linked to a number of health risks, higher fertility, and lower education attainment. Objective: To estimate the rate of child marriage in some underdeveloped Egyptian governorates and identify its correlates. Subjects and Methods: The study was part of a large survey, which was conducted in six purposefully selected Egyptian governorates and defined as developing; three from upper Egypt (Sohag, Assuit and Menia) and three from lower Egypt (Sharkia, Behira and Ismalia) aiming to measure the prevalence of child marriage and assess the impact of the different social and economic factors that affect the occurrence of the phenomena. Data were collected from 15279 females using an interview questionnaire targeting households’ members (sampling unit) in the selected governorates. Results: Prevalence of early age of marriage was significantly high among governorates of upper Egypt than in lower Egypt (reaching 39.75 in rural areas in El Menia) especially in rural residency. Lower educational level (less than secondary School) and consanguinity were found to have significant association with early age of marriage. Results revealed that early age of marriage has its effect on birth rate with mean number of children of 3.59 per women who married at age less than 18 years. Conclusion: Early age of marriage is an important public health challenge. Hence, a national multi-sectorial approach must be targeted to reduce this phenomenon.