Prevalence of child malnutrition at a university hospital using the World Health Organization criteria and bioelectrical impedance data.

ABSTRACT: Malnutrition constitutes a major public health concern worldwide and serves as an indicator of hospitalized patients' prognosis. Although various methods with which to conduct nutritional assessments exist, large hospitals seldom employ them to diagnose malnutrition. The aim of this study was to understand the prevalence of child malnutrition at the University Hospital of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São, Brazil. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to compare the nutritional status of 292 hospitalized children with that of a healthy control group (n=234). Information regarding patients' weight, height, and bioelectrical impedance (i.e., bioelectrical impedance vector analysis) was obtained, and the phase angle was calculated. Using the World Health Organiz

SUBMITTER: Pileggi VN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4763819 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature