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Spirometric impairments in undernourished children
R H Nair1, C Kesavachandran, S Shashidhar
1Physiological Chemistry Research Laboratory, School of Biosciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.
Insights
Undernutrition significantly impairs pulmonary functions in children, with severe effects seen in wasted and stunted individuals. These lung function deficits are linked to muscle wasting and reduced skeletal growth in affected children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Nutritional Science
- Child Health
Background:
- Undernutrition is a major global health issue affecting child development.
- Pulmonary function deficits are a known complication of severe malnutrition.
- The specific impact of different types of undernutrition on lung function requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of undernutrition on pulmonary functions in children.
- To compare lung function parameters across healthy, wasted, and wasted and stunted children.
- To identify the contributing factors to reduced lung function in undernourished pediatric populations.
Main Methods:
- Spirometry was conducted using a Vitalograph Compact-II spirometer.
- Participants were categorized into three groups: healthy normals, wasted children, and wasted and stunted children.
- Key pulmonary function parameters including lung volumes and flow rates were measured.
Main Results:
- Wasted and wasted and stunted children exhibited significantly lower lung volumes and inspiratory flow rates compared to healthy children.
- Wasted and stunted children demonstrated further reductions in vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced inspiratory flow at 50% of vital capacity (FIF50%) compared to wasted children.
- No evidence of airflow limitation was detected in any of the undernourished groups.
Conclusions:
- Undernutrition, particularly when combined with stunting, adversely affects lung volumes and airflow dynamics in children.
- Ventilatory muscle wasting contributes to reduced lung function in wasted children.
- In wasted and stunted children, impaired skeletal growth exacerbates the pulmonary function deficits caused by muscle wasting.
Abstract:
The present study elucidates the effect of undernutrition on pulmonary functions in children. The study was carried out in healthy normals, wasted, wasted and stunted children. Spirometry was performed with Vitalograph Compact-II spirometer. Wasted, wasted and stunted children showed lower lung volumes, forced mid expiratory flow time and inspiratory flow rates than healthy normals. Wasted and stunted children had lower VC, FVC and FIF50% than wasted children. The reduction in lung volumes and flow rates in wasted children may be due to ventilatory muscle wasting. But in wasted and stunted children along with muscular wasting diminished skeletal growth is also a reason for lower lung functions. No airflow limitation was observed in undernourished children.