Thiamine status in protein energy malnutrition

ABSTRACT

Serum thiamine was studied in 51 malnourished infants and children and in the sera of 17 apparently healthy infants and children serving as a control group for a possible role of thiamine deficiency in nutritional edemagenesis. Patients were categoirzed according to Wellcome's classification into kwashiorkor, marasmus and marasmic kwashiorkor groups. The mean serum thiamine levels of patient groups were significantly lower than that of the control group with lower values in kwashiorkor gropus than in the marasmic group. The mean serum pyruvic acid levels, a substrate for thiamine pyrophosphate coenzyme, were significantly higher in the patient groups than in the control group. There was a significant positive correaltion between serum thiamine and albumin levels among the malnourished gropus. We concluded that serum thiamine deficiency and consequently the accumulation of pruvic acid besides hypoalbuminemia may play a role in the pathogenesis of edema in protein energy malnutrition