Objective: To characterize the relation between protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) and hearing loss (HL) in children. Study Design: Retrospective review. Setting: Tertiary referral hospital. Patients: Children in the Audiological and Genetic Database with a diagnosis of protein-calorie malnutrition, marasmus, and/or kwashiorkor. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence, type, severity (4-tone pure-tone average, PTA), and progression of HL. Results: Of 770 children with PCM, 57.8% had HL, compared to 45.5% of children without PCM (p < 0.001). Severely malnourished children had significantly higher odds of moderate-profound HL (aOR 2.27, 95% CI 1.47–3.43), high-frequency HL (aOR 1.82, 95% CI 1.21–2.75), and sensorineural or mixed HL (aOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.05–2.41) compared to children without PCM. Severely malnourished children had significantly worse initial (35.0 dB vs 25.0 dB, p < 0.001), and final median PTA (31.3 dB vs 20.0 dB, p < 0.001) compared to children without PCM. Additionally, HL in children who were moderately and severely malnourished was significantly less likely to improve (aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.25–0.82 and aOR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2–0.9) when compared to those without PCM. Conclusions: Given the greater prevalence and severity of hearing loss, children with PCM should be considered an at-risk group for poor audiological outcomes, and clinical practice should focus on early treatment and intervention for malnourished children. Routine audiological evaluation should be considered in this population.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.