Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jan 11;17(1):10.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-017-0779-y.

Wasting, underweight and stunting among children with congenital heart disease presenting at Mulago hospital, Uganda

Anthony Batte  1 , Peter Lwabi  2 , Sulaiman Lubega  2 , Sarah Kiguli  3 , Kennedy Otwombe  4 , Lucy Chimoyi  5 , Violette Nabatte  6 , Charles Karamagi  3   7
Affiliations

Wasting, underweight and stunting among children with congenital heart disease presenting at Mulago hospital, Uganda

Anthony Batte et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Children with congenital heart disease are at increased risk of malnutrition. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of wasting, underweight and stunting among children with congenital heart disease attending Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda.

Methods: A cross-sectional study among 194 children aged 0-15 years was conducted between August 2013 and March 2014. Anthropometric measurements and clinical assessments were carried out on all children. Anthropometric z-scores based on WHO 2007 reference ranges were generated for each child. Weight-for-height z-scores were generated for children 0-5 years, weight-for-age z-scores for children 0-10 years, and height-for-age and BMI-for-age z-scores for all children. Risk factors associated with malnutrition were determined by Poisson regression.

Results: One hundred and forty five (74.7%) children were aged 0-5 years; and 111 of 194 (57.2%) were female. Forty five of 145 (31.5%) children aged 0-5 years were wasted; 77 of 181 (42.5%) children aged 0-10 years were underweight; 88 of 194 (45.4%) children were stunted; and 53 of 194 (27.3%) children were thin (BMI for age z score < -2). Moderate to severe anaemia (RR 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01-1.22) and moderate to severe heart failure (RR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.13-1.36) were associated with wasting and underweight respectively. Stunting was associated with moderate to severe heart failure (RR 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01-1.21) while thinness was associated with moderate to severe heart failure (RR 1.12, 95% CI: 1.04-1.21) and moderate to severe anaemia (RR 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06-1.25).

Conclusion: Malnutrition is common in children with congenital heart disease, and is associated with anaemia and heart failure. There is need to integrate strategies to identify and manage malnutrition during the care of children with congenital heart disease.

Keywords: Africa; Congenital heart disease; Malnutrition; Uganda.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Okoromah CA, Ekure EN, Lesi FE, Okunowo WO, Tijani BO, Okeiyi JC. Prevalence, profile and predictors of malnutrition in children with congenital heart defects: a case-control observational study. Arch Dis Child. 2011;96(4):354–60. doi: 10.1136/adc.2009.176644. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mitchell I, Logan R, Pollock J, Jamieson M. Nutritional status of children with congenital heart disease. Br Heart J. 1995;73(3):277–83. doi: 10.1136/hrt.73.3.277. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Varan B, Tokel K, Yilmaz G. Malnutrition and growth failure in cyanotic and acyanotic congenital heart disease with and without pulmonary hypertension. Arch Dis Child. 1999;81(1):49–52. doi: 10.1136/adc.81.1.49. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Medoff-Cooper B, Ravishankar C. Nutrition and growth in congenital heart disease: a challenge in children. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2013;28(2):122–9. doi: 10.1097/HCO.0b013e32835dd005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Grantham-McGregor S, Baker-Henningham H. Review of the evidence linking protein and energy to mental development. Public Health Nutr. 2005;8(7a):1191–201. doi: 10.1079/PHN2005805. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms