Hospital Based Prevalence of Malnutrition in Pediatrics

Background: Malnutrition constitutes a major public health concern worldwide and serves as an indicator of hospitalized patient’s prognosis. Nutritional support is an essential aspect of the clinical management of children admitted to hospital. Malnutrition has been long associated with poor quality, poor diet and inadequate access to health care, and it remains a key global health issue that both stems from and contributes to weakness, with 50% of childhood deaths due to principal under nutrition. Methods: The present hospital based cross sectional study was conducted in April to Dec 2015 among 300 rural adolescents of 9-18 years age (146 boys and 154 girls) attending the outpatient department at Patna Medical College and Hospital, Bihar, India, belonging to the all caste communities. The nutritional status was assessed in terms of under nutrition (weight-for-age below 3 rd percentile), stunting (Height-for-age below 3 rd percentile) and thinness (BMI-for-age below 5 th percentile). Diseases were accepted as such as diagnosed by pediatrician, skin specialist and medical officer. Results: The prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness were found to be 31%, 22.3% and 30.7% respectively. The maximum prevalence of malnutrition was observed among early adolescents (23% 54%) and the most common morbidities were diarrhoea (16.7%), carbuncle / furuncle (16.7%) and scabies (12%). Conclusion: Malnutrition among hospitalized under five children and around suffers moderately high rates of malnutrition. Present nutrition programs attention on education for at risk children and referral to regional hospitals for malnourished children. Screening tools to classify children at risk of developing malnutrition might be helpful. Key-wordsMalnutrition, Hospitalized children, Morbidities, Prevalence, Stunting -------------------------------------------------IJLSSR----------------------------------------------INTRODUCTION Adequate nutrition is essential in early childhood to ensure healthy growth, proper organ formation and function, a strong immune system, and neurological and cognitive development. Economic growth and human development require well nourished populations who can learn new skills, think critically and contribute to their communities. Child malnutrition impacts cognitive function and contributes to poverty through impeding individuals’ ability to lead productive lives. In addition, it is estimated that more than one-third of under five deaths are attributable to under nutrition [1-2] . Access this article online