Publication:

Assessment of nutritional status in under five children admitted to tertiary care hospital and comparison of different nutritional indices

Background Childhood is a phase of swift growth and development after infancy. One of the foremost public health problems in developing countries like India is extensive prevalence of under nutrition among school children resulting in delayed cognitive development and severe health impairment. Aim was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with undernutrition and comparison of different nutritional indices in under five-year children.

Methods A descriptive observational study conducted among 300 children under five years admitted to a tertiary care hospital for a duration of 1 year by simple random sampling technique. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was employed to interview the children and their mothers. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 26.0.

Results The overall prevalence of underweight among under five children was 50%, wasting was 40.7% and 39.7% of children were stunting. Stunting was significantly associated with higher birth order (Chi-square test=8.21, p value=0.04). undernutrition was significantly associated with lower socio-economic status. Dugdale index have higher sensitivity and specificity and maximum area under curve as per ROC and concluded as best tool for screening the malnutrition in under five children.

Conclusions Malnutrition is a major public health problem leading to morbidity and mortality in children. It requires focussed action to mitigate the impact of malnutrition in under five children.