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Nutritional status of Laotian refugee children in Ubon camp, Thailand
Insights
A survey in Ubon Refugee Camp found 7.5% of children aged 1-5 malnourished using arm circumference. This method effectively screened children, revealing feeding centers weren't reaching as many malnourished children as anticipated.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Epidemiology
Background:
- Assessing child malnutrition in refugee settings is critical for targeted interventions.
- Previous methods for nutritional status assessment can be resource-intensive.
- The Ubon Refugee Camp in Thailand provided a context for evaluating nutritional screening tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) as a screening tool for malnutrition in young children.
- To compare MUAC with weight-for-age and morbidity data.
- To assess the attendance patterns of malnourished children at feeding centers.
Main Methods:
- A nutritional survey of 2152 children aged 1-5 years was conducted in May 1979.
- Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) was used as the primary index for malnutrition.
- MUAC was validated against weight-for-age and morbidity data.
- The screening tool was applied to children attending feeding centers.
Main Results:
- Approximately 7.5% (165 children) were identified as probably malnourished based on MUAC.
- MUAC demonstrated validity when compared to weight-for-age and morbidity.
- The screening tool had a false positive ratio of approximately 1:5.
- Feeding centers were attended by fewer malnourished children than expected.
- Centers in impoverished areas showed a higher percentage of malnourished children attending.
Conclusions:
- Mid-upper arm circumference is a valid and useful screening index for assessing nutritional status in young children.
- The study highlighted potential gaps in the reach of feeding centers to the most vulnerable populations.
- Targeting feeding centers to highly impoverished areas may improve malnutrition intervention effectiveness.
Abstract:
A survey carried out in May 1979 of the nutritional status of 2152 children aged 1-5 living in Ubon Refugee Camp, Thailand, showed that 165 (7.5%) probably suffered from malnutrition, using arm circumference as an index. This index was validated by comparisons with weight for age and with morbidity in 'malnourished' and normal groups. Arm circumference appeared to be a valid index of nutritional status and a useful screening test with a false positive ratio of about 1 : 5. It was then applied to children attending feeding centres within the camp, and it was thus possible to show that the centres were not attended by as many malnourished children as expected. A feeding centre in a highly impoverished area of the camp was shown to be more likely to have a higher percentage of malnourished children attending.