Risk factors of undernutrition in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND This study was undertaken to investigate the nutritional status of children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) and to identify the risk factors of undernutrition. METHODS Seventy-five spastic CP children, 47 boys and 28 girls, (ages, 5 months to 10 years) underwent anthropometric assessment, including body weight, recumbent length, and knee height. Their functional status, medical condition, and feeding status were also recorded. The data were analyzed to estimate the influences of various factors on the nutritional status of the spastic CP children. RESULTS The nutritional status of 31 of the 75 children (41.3%) were below the 10th percentile (undernutrition) and three (4%) were above 90th percentile (overnutrition) of healthy children. In the multivariate analysis, we found that undernutrition was significantly associated with: (1) girls (p = 0.006), (2) more feeding problems (p = 0.018), (3) shorter duration per meal (p = 0.022), and (4) poor communication ability (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION It appears that periodic anthropometric assessments of CP children are indicated for the early identification of nutritional risk. Further nutritional management should be arranged for undernourished children to promote their nutritional status and improve growth and functional capacity.