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[Nutritional status and its influencing factors in children with newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease]
Juan Zhou1, Xiong Xiao1, Yu Xia1
1Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Hunan Children's Hospital, Changsha 410007, China.
Insights
Children with newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often suffer from poor nutrition, including high rates of anemia and growth issues. Delayed diagnosis significantly worsens malnutrition in pediatric IBD patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Nutritional Science
- Chronic Disease Management
Context:
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) significantly impacts children's health.
- Nutritional status is a critical concern in pediatric IBD management.
- Understanding factors influencing nutritional status is vital for early intervention.
Purpose:
- To assess the nutritional status of children newly diagnosed with IBD.
- To identify key factors, including diagnostic delay, affecting nutritional status in pediatric IBD.
- To analyze the prevalence of malnutrition and growth issues in this population.
Summary:
- A retrospective study of 125 newly diagnosed pediatric IBD patients revealed high rates of anemia (77.6%), emaciation (42.4%), and growth retardation (7.2%).
- Crohn's disease was the predominant diagnosis (91.2%).
- Diagnostic delay, defined as symptom onset to diagnosis in the upper quartile, was a significant risk factor for emaciation (OR=2.73) and growth retardation (OR=4.42). Age was also linked to emaciation (OR=1.30).
Impact:
- Highlights the critical need for timely IBD diagnosis in children to prevent severe nutritional deficits.
- Informs clinical practice regarding nutritional screening and support for pediatric IBD patients.
- Emphasizes diagnostic delay as a modifiable factor impacting long-term outcomes in pediatric IBD.
Objectives:
To investigate the nutritional status and its influencing factors in children with newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Methods:
A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of children who were diagnosed with IBD for the first time in Hunan Children's Hospital from January 2015 to December 2021. Diagnostic delay was defined as the time from the symptom onset to IBD diagnosis being in the upper quartile (P76-P100) of all IBD children in the study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors for emaciation and growth retardation.
Results:
A total of 125 children with newly diagnosed IBD were included, with Crohn's disease being the main type (91.2%). The rates of emaciation and growth retardation were 42.4% (53 cases) and 7.2% (9 cases), respectively, and the rate of anemia was 77.6% (97 cases). Diagnostic delay was noted in 31 children (24.8%), with the time from the symptom onset to IBD diagnosis of 366 to 7 211 days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that diagnostic delay was a risk factor for emaciation and growth retardation (OR=2.73 and OR=4.42, respectively; P<0.05) and that age was positively associated with emaciation (OR=1.30, P<0.05).
Conclusions:
Children with newly diagnosed IBD have poor nutritional status, and the rates of anemia, emaciation, and growth retardation are high. Diagnostic delay is associated with malnutrition in children with IBD.
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