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Language skills and intelligence quotient of protein energy malnutrition survivors

May F Nassar1, Sanaa Y Shaaban, Jilan F Nassar

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. maie_nassar@yahoo.co.uk

Journal of Tropical Pediatrics
|September 21, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Children with protein energy malnutrition (PEM) show lasting deficits in height, cognition, and language skills years after recovery. Continued monitoring is crucial to assess potential permanent brain damage from early malnutrition.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) in infancy can have long-term consequences.
  • Assessing the persistent effects of early malnutrition on child development is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate long-term cognitive and language deficits in children who experienced protein energy malnutrition (PEM) during infancy.
  • To compare developmental outcomes between children with a history of PEM and a control group.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of patient files for admission and follow-up data.
  • Clinical examination, intelligence quotient (IQ) assessment, and language evaluation.
  • Comparison of 33 children with PEM history against 30 matched controls.

Main Results:

  • PEM patients remained shorter than controls 2-5 years post-illness.
  • Cognitive abilities were poorer in the PEM group.
  • Mental age and language skills correlated with height and duration of acute illness follow-up.

Conclusions:

  • Early protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is associated with persistent physical and cognitive deficits.
  • Inadequate dietary intake post-recovery may exacerbate long-term effects.
  • Extended follow-up is necessary to determine the permanence of brain damage from PEM.

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