A comparative study of protein energy malnutrition of children and the elderly in Ghana using biochemical and anthropometrical indices
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Date
2001-12-13
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Abstract
A comparative, cross-sectional study was carried out on 305 children and 307 adults from both the Northern and Ashanti regions to investigate their nutritional status and the usefulness of some relatively new nutritional indexes for nutritional assessment. The children were of age one to twelve years, whereas the adults were fifty years and older. Nutritional status was assessed by biochemical and anthropometric parameters. The biochemical assessment was performed using haemoglobin (Hb), serum albumin and serum potassium levels in children and adults. Serum calcium was studied in children only.
The prevalence rate of anaemia in the children was 41.0% (based on Hb cut off point of 11 g/dl). Of all the children, the subgroup of 6-to-9 year’s school children was at the highest risk of anaemia, having a prevalence rate of 49.6%.
The mean Hb level of the North child was 10.2 g/dl (±1.4) whilst that of the Ashanti child was slightly higher at a value of 10.6 g/dl (±1.8).
In the adult group investigated, the prevalence rate of anaemia was 47.9% (at Hb cut off point of 12.0 g/dl. Women were at a higher risk of anaemia than men at prevalence rates of 52.8% and 42.8% respectively. Those in the highest risk zone of anaemia were the elderly adults greater than 70 years old, at a rate of 52.2%
The mean adult Hb level was 11.7 g/dl (± 2.3), slightly lower than the cut off point
Hypoalbuminaemia (serum albumin level set at a cut off point of 35.0 g/dl) prevalence rate for the child sample investigated was 18.4% while that of the adult was 26.7%. The prevalence rate of hypoalbuminaemia was less than that of anaemia in both children and adults.
Our study showed a good correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and a modified Nutritional Risk Index (NRI’) with an r-value of 0.57 in the child group
studied. Furthermore, using NRI’ to perform PEM sensitivity test in the study population, we observed a stronger sensitivity of NRI’ in ident5iing children at nutritional risk compared to using weight-for-age Z scores (WAZ). NRI’ gave a sensitivity of 43.5% compared to that of WAZ of 22.8% among children of moderate malnutrition. NRI’ offers a promising parameter for assessing malnutrition risk status among children in developing countries where standard references of the WHO are often employed.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science in Clinical Biochemistry, 2001