Prevalence of Undernutrition among Preschool Children under Five Attending Pediatric OPD in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Northeastern India

Background: Prevalence of undernutrition in developing countries, though on the declining trend, is still a cause for alarm.The prevalence in India is among the highest in the world. In such a scenario,this study was undertaken to find out the nutritional status of under five children attending the pediatric OPD of a tertiary care hospital of North East india. Methodology: The study was an OPD based cross sectional study carried out at the Pediatric OPD, NEIGRIHMS, Shillong.The study was carried out from 1stJanuary 2012 – 31st December 2012. Weight and Height was taken by trained staff following standard anthropometric techniques. A total of 6624 children aged 0-60 months were included in the study.Results: A total of 6624 children aged 0-60 months were enrolled during 1st January 2012 – 31st December 2012 in the Pediatric OPD, NEIGRIHMS. Out of these, 6183 children were included in the present analyses. Overall the prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was 19.7%, 35.5% and 8.5% respectively. Of these, 9.0%, 19.7% and 3.4% children were found to be severely underweight, stunted and wasted. It was observed that the prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was significantly higher in boys than girls. Based on the World Health Organization classification of severity in malnutrition, the overall prevalence of underweight (>19%) and stunting (>30%) was high. While the prevalence rates of wasting (5–9%) were medium. Conclusion: The nutritional status of the subjects is unsatisfactory. There is scope for a detailed community based study and nutritional interventions