Evaluation of the Frequency of Malnutrition in Children and Adolescents Referred to Pediatric Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic for Short Stature

Authors : Elif SÖBÜ, Mehmet Tolga KÖLE

Pages : 77-81

View : 19 | Download : 13

Publication Date : 2023-02-28

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and the etiological factors of children and adolescents and the prevalance of malnutrition with the complaint of short stature. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic of a tertiary care city hospital in Turkey, between May 2019 and May 2021. Patients aged 1-18 years who were referred to the pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic because of short stature were included in the study. Short stature was defined as a height below the third percentile for the corresponding age and gender in the Turkish children’s growth chart. Mild malnutrition was defined as BMI SDS insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(body mass index standart deviation score); between -1 and -2, moderate malnutrition between -2 and -3 and severe malnutrition less than -3. Results: The study included 980 patients aged between 1 and 18 years. Forty-five percent of the patients were female insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(n=444); and 55% insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(n=536); were male. Height SDS was less than -2 SDS in 408 patients, while 572 insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(58%); patients had a height SDS value greater than -2 SDS. When the whole group was evaluated, 38% of the cases insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(n:371); had a BMI SDS value less than -1 and had varying degrees of malnutrition. There was no statistically significant difference between girls and boys in the distribution of malnutrition according to gender insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(p:0,46);. Conclusion: Results of our study indicate that stunting due to protein-energy deficiency is still a serious health problem in our country and mild malnutrition can be easily overlooked.
Keywords : boy kısalığı, malnütrisyon, bodurluk