Prevalence and Determinants of Malnutrition among Children Consulting at the Buea Regional Hospital, South West Cameroon
Keywords:
Malnutrition, Prevalence, Children, Hospital diagnosisAbstract
Malnutrition is a public health problem worldwide. It has a negative impact on human performance, growth and development, especially in children. An estimated 925 million people worldwide are affected by malnutrition, majority of who are found in the developing world. Malnutrition is responsible for the death of about 9 million children below 5 years old annually. It is both a cause and consequence of disease. However, it is largely underdiagnosed and overlooked in hospital settings. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of malnutrition among children between 6 and 59 months presenting for consultation or immunization at the Buea Regional Hospital (BRH). We also sought to determine the proportion of children with a record of malnutrition in their consultation, immunization or admission records, as well as the socioeconomic and dietary factors associated with malnutrition. A descriptive cross sectional study involving 201 consecutively selected children was carried out at the Buea Regional Hospital over a period of 3 months. Structured questionnaires were used, and measurements of weight and height were recorded. The WHO classification of Z-scores was used to determine nutritional status. The overall prevalence of malnutrition obtained was 23.4%, while the prevalence of underweight, wasting and stunting was 6%, 14.4% and 9.5% respectively. Only 8.5% of malnourished children had malnutrition recorded as a diagnosis or part diagnosis during consultation or admission. Change in hair colour and respiratory tract infection were the major clinical findings that were significantly associated with malnutrition (0.001 and 0.01 respectively), while the employment status of the parent was the only socioeconomic factor significantly associated with malnutrition (P=0.004). The results showed that malnutrition is high among paediatric patients, yet underdiagnosed or overlooked at the Buea Regional Hospital. Hospital personnel ought to pay more attention to its diagnoses and hence management.
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