PMID: 19137985Jan 14, 2009Paper

The prevalence of malnutrition and its risk factors in children attending outpatient clinics in the city of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

Archivos latinoamericanos de nutrición
M M M MaiaM Carneiro

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and its risk factors in children aged 0-10 years attending outpatient clinics in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. A cross-sectional epidemiological study of a population of 347 children was conducted. Data concerning socio-economic levels and food consumption were obtained by interviewing the accompanying guardian of each child. Dietetic evaluation was conducted using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and faecal samples were examined by optical microscopy. Anthropometric measurements were transformed into percentiles and z-scores, and nutritional status was evaluated by reference to National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicators. Factors associated with undernutrition were analysed using a random-effects logistic regression model. The overall prevalences of underweight, stunting and wasting were 18.1, 15.5 and 10.7%, respectively, with reference to CDC growth curves, and 14.3, 17.3 and 4.4%, respectively, with reference to NCHS growth curves. The overall prevalence of wasting was statistical higher according to the CDC reference than that estimated using the NCHS reference (P=0.02). The prevalence ...Continue Reading

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