ABSTRACT
By the end of 2015, about 72,152 children with learning disabilities were registered under the Malaysian Welfare Service Department (JKM). Malnutrition has been found to be a common setback among children with learning disability (LD). This study presents available evidence on the prevalence and risk factors associated with malnutrition in children with LD. Methods: A framework suggested by Arksey & O`Male (2005) was used to carry out this scoping review. Published articles, reviews and reports were identified through a complete search. Inclusion criteria for the search were English articles related to LD, published from 2005 to 2016. Results: Seventeen international studies published from 2005 until 2015 with a total of 318,596 participants and one study involving 281 participants from Malaysia, were identified and included in this review (n=18). The target age range of the sample in these 18 studies was 2 - 20 years, with a mean age of 3.2 - 14.2 years. The prevalence of underweight among children with LD was 3.4 - 36%, overweight 7.6 - 37% and obesity 5.7 - 52%. Several studies reveal that malnutrition risk among children with LD is significantly associated with gender, age, genetic syndrome, type of disability, medication used, and country economic status. Conclusion: A number of studies show that children with LD have a higher prevalence of being overweight and obese than typically developing children and the risk associated with obesity significantly increases with age.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Identified parameters associated with geriatric malnutrition add greatly to the knowledge of clinical nutrition and facilitate patient-centred nutritional care management. Methods: A six-month cross-sectional study with the aims of deterrninine the prevalence of malnutrition and its associated parameters was conducted among hospitalised geriatrics admitted to Hospital USM. A total of 130 (49 men, 81 women) eligible participants with a mean age of 69.7 (6.99) were recruited for this study. Anthropometric tests, biochemical tests, and subjective global assessments (SGA) were applied in this study to assess the nutritional status of the participants. Meanwhile, socio-demographics, nutritional risk factors, and clinical elements were examined to identify the associated factors of malnutrition. Results: The findings of this study revealed that 35.4% of the participants were malnourished based on SGA ratings of B (26.2%) and C (9.2%), with women having a significantly higher proportion (43.5%) compared to men (22 4%) with p<0.05. Multivariate analysis revealed that loss of appetite (p<0.001), low body mass index (EMI) (p<0.001), albumin (p<0.05), and surgical procedures (p<0.05) were significantly associated with malnutrition. Conclusion: The associated parameters were found to be practicable in facilitating the identification process of malnutrition, and thus enable earlier nutritional intervention to improve the overall disease progress.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Identified parameters associated with geriatric malnutrition add greatly to the knowledge of clinical nutrition and facilitate patient-centred nutritional care management. Methods: A six-month cross-sectional study with the aims of deterrninine the prevalence of malnutrition and its associated parameters was conducted among hospitalised geriatrics admitted to Hospital USM. A total of 130 (49 men, 81 women) eligible participants with a mean age of 69.7 (6.99) were recruited for this study. Anthropometric tests, biochemical tests, and subjective global assessments (SGA) were applied in this study to assess the nutritional status of the participants. Meanwhile, socio-demographics, nutritional risk factors, and clinical elements were examined to identify the associated factors of malnutrition. Results: The findings of this study revealed that 35.4% of the participants were malnourished based on SGA ratings of B (26.2%) and C (9.2%), with women having a significantly higher proportion (43.5%) compared to men (22 4%) with p<0.05. Multivariate analysis revealed that loss of appetite (p<0.001), low body mass index (EMI) (p<0.001), albumin (p<0.05), and surgical procedures (p<0.05) were significantly associated with malnutrition. Conclusion: The associated parameters were found to be practicable in facilitating the identification process of malnutrition, and thus enable earlier nutritional intervention to improve the overall disease progress.