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Updated: Aug 4, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
[Anthropometric evolution during hospitalization of severe malnourished children with persistent diarrhea receiving
F L Moreira1, C R Padovani, H V Maffei
1Depto de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, UNESP, Botucatu, SP.
Insights
Malnourished children with persistent diarrhea showed nutritional rehabilitation during hospitalization. However, low arm measurements, severe infections, and rapid weight loss indicated a poor prognosis in this vulnerable group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition Science
- Infectious Diseases
Context:
- Persistent diarrhea (PD) and severe malnutrition are critical health issues in infants.
- Nutritional support (NS) is vital for recovery but its effectiveness in PD requires further evaluation.
- Assessing nutritional rehabilitation (NR) during hospitalization is crucial for improving outcomes.
Purpose:
- To estimate nutritional rehabilitation (NR) in malnourished children with persistent diarrhea (PD) receiving standardized nutritional support (NS).
- To identify factors associated with prognosis in severely malnourished infants.
- To evaluate the role of anthropometric measurements in predicting outcomes.
Summary:
- A prospective study evaluated 20 malnourished infants with PD, focusing on anthropometric measurements and metabolic-infectious status.
- Lower arm measurements (AM) and more metabolic-infectious alterations were observed in the death group (DG) compared to the survivor group (SG).
- Nutritional rehabilitation was evident in survivors, particularly when considering minimum weight; however, low caloric intake and high weight loss velocity were linked to poor prognosis.
Impact:
- Arm measurements (AM) at admission are valuable prognostic indicators.
- Severe metabolic-infectious insults, low caloric input, and rapid weight loss velocity are associated with adverse outcomes.
- Adequate nutritional support (NS) and anthropometric follow-up are essential for managing malnourished infants with PD.
Abstract:
In order to estimate the nutritional rehabilitation (NR) during admission of malnourished children with persistent diarrhea (PD) receiving standardized nutritional support (NS), we prospectively evaluated the weight, height, head circumference and arm measurements (AM) of 20 children, 19 below 1 year, admitted to the ward with weigh/age -2.89 to -5.21 standard deviation. Four infants comprised the death group (DG) and 16 survived (SG). The SG was separated, according to initial weight behavior, into weight gain (WG) or weight loss (WL). Compared to SG at admission, DG only had lower AM and more metabolic-infectious alterations (p<05). The survivors presented NR but this was evident for WL only when considering the minimum weight. DG received less calories than SG and weight loss during the pre-death period was higher than for WL (p<05). It was concluded that very altered AM, severe metabolic-infectious insults, low caloric input and high weight loss velocity are associated to bad prognosis; severely malnourished infants with PD began NR during hospitalization while receiving adequate NS, but minimum weight must be considered for this evaluation; AM must be obtained at admission, due to its prognostic value, and adequate NS as well as anthropometric follow-up during the hospital stay are essential.
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