Analysis of nutritional status in 22 609 children and adolescents aged 2-18 years in Southwest China / 国际儿科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the epidemiology, risk factors and biochemical indexes of nutritional status in children and adolescents aged 2~18 years in Southwest China.Methods:Children attending routine health checkups at the Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between April 2017 and March 2021 were enrolled in this study.Nutritional status was defined based on BMI cut-off values, and statistically analyzed based on gender, region and age.Its risk factors were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression.Results:A total of 22 609 cases were recruited and the overall prevalence of wasting, overweight and obesity was 5.87%, 9.81% and 10.50%, respectively.The prevalence of obesity and wasting in boys was higher than that in girls ( χ2=24.79, 12.39, all P<0.05), and the prevalence of overweight in boys was lower than that in girls( χ2=4.32, P<0.05). The prevalence of overweight among boys in urban regions was higher than that in rural regions( χ2=4.68, P<0.05). Compared in three age groups, boys aged 12~18 years had the highest prevalence of obesity( χ2=12.49, P<0.01), while girls had the lowest prevalence of wasting( χ2=6.18, P<0.05). Compared with boys, girls had a lower risk of obesity and wasting ( OR=0.80, 95% CI 0.73~0.87), ( OR=0.80, 95% CI 0.71~0.90). Compared to children aged 12~18 years, children aged 2~<6 years had a lower risk of obesity ( OR=0.55, 95% CI 0.46~0.67), while children aged 6~<12 years had a higher risk of wasting ( OR=1.70, 95% CI 1.25~2.33). Significant differences were reported in ALT, AST, ALP, UA, UN, CRE, TG, TC, HDL-C and LDL-C levels in obese children (all P<0.05). Conclusion:The nutritional status of children and adolescents in Southwest China is comparable to that at the national level.The prevalence of obesity and wasting is associated with gender and age.Obese children are more likely to have biochemical abnormalities.