Nutritional evaluation of the children and teenagers at the diagnosis time of acute leukemia

Abstract

Acute leukemia is the most cancer has frequency in children, Malnutrition is one of the common complications of children with cancer, and malnutrition has been identified as a significant factor in treatment tolerance, increased morbidity, poor prognosis, reduced quality of life, and higher healthcare expenses. The study aimed at assessing the nutritional status of children with acute leukemia at diagnosis time before chemotherapy, assess the prevalence of malnutrition in acute leukemia groups compared to healthy groups and find any association between malnutrition and demographic factors such as gender and socioeconomic level. A case-control study was conducted in Karbala city, The case data was collected from Imam Al-Hussain Oncology and Hematology center and a control group was collected from primary health centers in Karbala city. The data was collected over a period of approximately 3 months starting from 2nd January 2022 to the 5th April 2022. The study sample included 140 children (70 cases and 70 controls) whose ages were from (2 to 14) years, The study used convenient sampling (non-random sampling technique) to choose the case and control groups via direct interviews and physical examination.