Frequency and factors of malnutrition in children with cerebral palsy presenting in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the common causes of physical disability in children. The worldwide prevalence of CP is approximately 2–2.5 per 1,000 live births. Malnutrition is common in cerebral palsy patients.

Objective: To determine frequency of malnutrition in children with cerebral palsy, and factors leading to malnutrition in these children.

Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted at pediatric department of the Sheikh Zayed Hospital from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2018. Patients with age of 1–15 years of either gender and having cerebral palsy as per operational definition were included and children with other congenital malformations were excluded. The data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 17.

Results: In our study, mean age was 9.53 ± 3.64 years, with 64.8% male. Frequency of malnutrition in children with cerebral palsy was 73.2% while frequency of factors leading to malnutrition in children with cerebral palsy were recorded as 72.13%, drooling 77.05%, swallowing difficulty 53%, speech and communication 20.22%, vomiting and choking with food 56.28%.

Conclusion: The frequency of malnutrition is high among children with cerebral palsy. So, it is recommended that children, who present with cerebral palsy, should have early detection and intervention to prevent all the complications of malnutrition.