Nutritional risk factors for acute lower respiratory tract infection among infants and children 2-60 months old in Basra, Southern Iraq | ||
| The Medical Journal of Basrah University | ||
| Article 1, Volume 32, Issue 1, June 2014, Pages 30-36 PDF (0 K) | ||
| DOI: 10.33762/mjbu.2014.94507 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Nehad Kadhim Al- Jaferi; ad Kadhum Hassan; | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Objectives: A case-control study was carried out to identify nutritional risk factors for acute lower respiratory tract infections among infants and children under 5 years. Methods: Children who have been admitted to the pediatric wards at Basra Maternity and Children Hospital and those who have visited Al-Razie Primary Health Center over the period from the 4th of November 2007 till the end of May 2008 were recruited. A total of 110 patients with pneumonia according to the WHO criteria and 207 apparently healthy infants and children, their age ranged from 2 months-5 years were included. Results: The study has revealed that formula feeding in early life, duration of breast feeding of less than 6 months, time of introduction of weaning foods before 6 months, anemia, rickets and malnutrition are significant risk factors for acute lower respiratory tract infection. In addition, a significant correlation was found between the severity of the acute lower respiratory tract infection and rickets, malnutrition, serum calcium level, and hemoglobin level Conclusion: Presence of anemia, rickets and malnutrition are significant risk factors for acute lower respiratory tract infections and also for a more severe disease. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Acute lower respiratory tract infections; Nutrition; Children | ||
|
Statistics Article View: 483 PDF Download: 229 |
||