Background The most common nutritional problem affecting the pediatric population in developing countries is protein energy malnutrition (PEM). The nutritional problem may be caused by a variety of factors, most of which are related inadequate food intake and infection. One of the highest causes of morbidity and mortality in endemic areas is malaria. Malaria infection and nutritional status have been suggested to be interrelated.Objective To assess for a relationship between nutritional status and malaria infection in children.Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in October and November 2010 in primary school children at Panyabungan City, North Sumatera Province. Peripheral thick and thin blood smear examinations were done to confirm the diagnosis of malaria. Participants were divided in two groups (malaria-infected and uninfected) by consecutive sampling. Nutritional status was determined by body weight and height measurements based on the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chart. The mild and moderate malnutrition classification was further sub-divided into stunted and wasted, based on the 2007 NCHS/WHO chart. Chi-square test was used to analyze the relationship between nutritional status and malaria infection.Results There were 126 children in each group. Significant differences in mild-moderate malnutrition were found between the malaria-infected and uninfected groups (23.8% vs. 46.8%, respectively; P= 0.011). There were also significant differences between the malaria-infected and uninfected groups with regards to chronic malnutrition type: stunted (20.0% vs. 37.3%, respectively; P=0.042) and stunted-wasted (6.7% vs. 28.8%, respectively; P= 0.008) in both groups of the children with mild-moderate malnutrition.Conclusion There are significantly more children with mild-moderate malnutrition in the uninfected group than in the malaria-infected group, furthermore, of those with mild-moderate malnutrition, there are significantly more stunted and stunted-wasted children who were uninfected than malaria-infected.
Background The most common nutritional problem affecting the pediatric population in developing countries is protein energy malnutrition (PEM). The nutritional problem may be caused by a variety of factors, most of which are related inadequate food intake and infection. One of the highest causes of morbidity and mortality in endemic areas is malaria. Malaria infection and nutritional status have been suggested to be interrelated. Objective To assess for a relationship between nutritional status and malaria infection in children. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in October and November 2010 in primary school children at Panyabungan City, North Sumatera Province. Peripheral thick and thin blood smear examinations were done to confirm the diagnosis of malaria. Participants were divided in two groups (malaria-infected and uninfected) by consecutive sampling. Nutritional status was determined by body weight and height measurements based on the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chart. The mild and moderate malnutrition classification was further subdivided into stunted and wasted, based on the 2007 NCHS/ WHO chart. Chi-square test was used to analyze the relationship between nutritional status and malaria infection. wasted children who were uninfected than malaria-infected.
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.