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[Nutritional status assessment in children entering foster care]
Insights
Malnutrition and growth delays are common in children entering foster care, often stemming from nutritional and emotional deficiencies. These issues are linked to psychosocial deprivation, impacting development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Child Development
- Public Health
Context:
- Child maltreatment, including abuse and neglect, significantly impacts child health.
- Foster care systems serve vulnerable children requiring specialized health assessments.
- Understanding the nutritional status of children entering foster care is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the nutritional status of children entering foster care in Zaragoza, Spain.
- To identify specific anthropometric deficits (weight, height, BMI) in this population.
- To correlate nutritional status with age and sex.
Summary:
- A 7-year cross-sectional study assessed 684 children (ages 1-17) using anthropometry.
- Significant subnormal weight, height, and BMI were observed across various age groups and sexes compared to national standards.
- Malnutrition and growth delays were prevalent, particularly "failure to thrive syndrome" in preschoolers and mild chronic malnutrition in older children.
Impact:
- Findings highlight a high prevalence of malnutrition and growth delay in children entering foster care.
- Results underscore the link between nutritional deficiencies, emotional deficits, and "growth and developmental delay of psychosocial deprivation origin."
- This study provides critical data for developing targeted nutritional and developmental support programs for children in foster care.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to assess the nutritional status of abused and neglected children in a middle-sized city (Zaragoza, Spain) at the time of entry into foster care.
Patients And Methods:
A cross-sectional study was performed over a 7-year period. Using the anthropometric method, the nutritional status of 684 children (379 boys/305 girls), ranging in age from 1-17 years, was assessed. Weight, height and body-mass index were formulated (mean and DS) and compared with normal national reference standards (Z-score). Significant statistical differences were assessed (Student's unpaired t test).
Results:
Below, arranged by age and sex, the significant variances reflecting subnormal standards are listed. Weight: 1 and 2 year old boys and girls (p < 0.001); 3 and 4 year old girls (p < 0.01); 3, 4, 5 and 6 year old boys and 7, 8 and 10 year old girls (p < 0.05). Height: 1, 5 and 9 year old boys and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 11 year old girls (p < 0.001); 2 and 4 year old boys and 6 and 10 year old girls (p < 0.01); 3, 6, 10, 15, 16 and 17 year old boys and 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 17 year old girls (p < 0.05). Body-mass index: 1 year old boys (p < 0.001); 6 year old boys (p < 0.01); 1, 2 and 7 year old girls (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Malnutrition and growth delay are present in a high rate of children entering foster care. In preschool children, moderate forms of acute and chronic malnutrition with wasting and stunting are predominant, identifying with the "failure to thrive syndrome". In primary and secondary school aged children, mild forms of chronic malnutrition with growth failure are predominant. When growth and developmental delay is present in children entering foster care, in the majority of cases, nutritional and emotional deficiencies are the etiology for this delay. This is consistent with the concept of "growth and developmental delay of psychosocial deprivation origin".