Serum total protein and albumin levels among malnourished children aged 6- 59 months in Zaria

Abstract

Background: Children with PEM have greater deficiency of total protein and albumin and in severe cases the total protein may be reduced to about 50 percent. Objective: To determine the serum protein and albumin levels among children with Protein Energy Malnutrition and the controls at Institute of Child Health, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria. Method: This study was a case control health-based descriptive study to estimate the prevalence of serum protein and serum albumin in undernourished children in Zaria. Using systematic sampling method, a total of 132 children (cases and controls) between 6 and 59 months of age were selected for assessment of their serum protein and serum albumin. Both the total serum protein and albumin levels were analysed on the Boerhringer Mannheim Automated Hitachi system 704 using the Biuret and colour change methods respectively. Results: The prevalence of low serum protein levels (<60g/l) in this study among the cases was 46.9% with highest prevalence of 33.3% seen in severe wasting. While the prevalence of low serum proteins for the control was 1.5%. The prevalence of low serum albumin levels (< 25 g/l) among the cases was found to be 24.2% with severe stunting accounting for 15.2%, while for the controls, a low serum albumin levels of 3.0% occurred in this study. Conclusion: This study has been able to establish low serum levels of protein and albumin among under-nourished children in Zaria.

Analysis of Saliva Composition: Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein, Total Protein, and Secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in Rattus norvegicus with Stunted Growth

“…9 Immune system disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disorders, respiration disorders, neurology disorders, hematology disorders, and PEM accompanied by micronutrient deficiencies (calcium, phosphate and vitamins A, C, and D) can interfere with the odontogenesis process, increasing the risk of caries, delayed eruption, and impaired salivary glands. 11,26 The results showed that rats exposed chronically to AFB1 cause shorter body length compared with control rats. PEM conditions that occurred in the intervention rats were accompanied by decreased levels of total protein in the saliva, hormonal abnormalities, including decreased levels of PTHrP and decreased antibodies in salivary secretions (sIgA).…”

Anemia and metabolic acidosis as risk factor of mortality in children with severe acute malnutrition

“…This study found 47.8% hypoalbuminemia and 10.1% ketonuria. A study by Abdullahi found that 47.1% of malnourished children had hypoalbuminemia with a low serum total protein level of 49.2% compared to controls (Abdullahi et al, 2018). These low levels of total serum protein and albumin can be caused by protein deficiency that causes synthesis disorders.…”

“…Acetoacetate and 3hydroxybutyrate are carried from the liver to the extrahepatic tissue, for example, through the blood circulation. Acetoacetic acid and 3-hydroxybutyric acid are medium strength acids that will be balanced if they are present in blood or tissues, however, if the two keton bodies are released continuously in large amounts, there will be ketonemia and ketonuria (Abdullahi et al, 2018).…”

Effect of orange almond potato cookies supplementation on the nutritional status of underweight preschool-aged children during COVID-19 pandemic

“…Reduced intake of high-protein foods can decrease protein synthesis, leading to hypoalbuminemia. Hence, the hypoalbuminemia of undernourished preschool-aged children can be assessed in terms of their inadequate dietary protein intake [ 33 ]. All subjects who consumed orange almond potato cookies for 2 months in this study had adequate levels of protein and zinc intake (≥70% RDA).…”