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Growth in length of children recovering from severe malnutrition
1Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica.
Insights
Severe malnutrition hinders linear growth in children. While most children showed no catch-up growth, a subgroup of non-oedematous children experienced improved length for age, highlighting recovery differences.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Science
- Growth and Development
Background:
- Severe malnutrition is a significant global health issue affecting child development.
- Linear growth faltering is a common consequence of malnutrition, impacting long-term health outcomes.
- Understanding recovery patterns in malnourished children is crucial for optimizing treatment strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To retrospectively analyze linear growth patterns in children treated for severe malnutrition.
- To identify factors influencing catch-up linear growth during recovery.
- To investigate the relationship between edema, initial stunting, and linear growth recovery.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of linear growth data from 369 children treated for severe malnutrition.
- Comparison of anthropometric measurements (length-for-age, weight-for-length) at admission and discharge.
- Subgroup analysis to identify characteristics associated with catch-up linear growth.
Main Results:
- Overall, no significant catch-up in length-for-age was observed in the entire sample.
- A subgroup of 108 non-oedematous children showed catch-up linear growth, characterized by greater initial stunting.
- Linear growth primarily followed weight replenishment, with oedematous children exhibiting less growth in length-for-age.
Conclusions:
- Catch-up linear growth in severe malnutrition is variable and influenced by factors like edema and initial stunting.
- Early catch-up growth potential in some children remains unexplained and warrants further investigation.
- Treatment protocols may need refinement to address heterogeneous recovery trajectories in linear growth.
Abstract:
The linear growth of 369 children treated for severe malnutrition at the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University Hospital of the West Indies, was examined retrospectively. Mean age was 12.6 months and 58 per cent of the children were oedematous on admission. Mean length for age was the same at admission and discharge (SD score - 3.4). Therefore when the sample is considered as a whole there was no catch-up in length for age. A sub-group of 108 children began to show catch-up growth in length. This sub-group did not differ in age or sex from the total sample but contained a greater proportion of non-oedematous children. Children in the sub-group were also more stunted initially (P less than 0.0001) than the group as a whole. The absolute rate of linear growth was similar in oedematous and non-oedematous children. Change in length for age during recovery was significantly less in children who were oedematous on admission. Two-thirds of the children attained at least 85 per cent weight for length before they began to increase in length. Thus in most cases linear growth followed replenishment of body weight. The data point to the need for further investigations to determine why some children were capable of early catch-up growth in length while others, with similar characteristics, showed minimal or no linear growth during recovery.
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