Assessing the Nutritional Status of Children with Leukemia from Hospitals in Kuala Lumpur
- Author:
Zalina AZ
;
Suzana Shahar
;
A Rahman A Jamal
;
Noor Aini MY
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition
2009;15(1):45-51
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the nutritional status of 51 subjects
with leukemia aged 4 to 12 years from the Haematology & Oncology Paediatric Ward,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (PPUKM) and the Paediatric Institute of Kuala Lumpur. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric measurements,
biochemical and haematological parameters. Subjects comprised 32 (62.7%) males and
19 (27.3%) females. Most of the subjects (41.2%) were in the age group of 4 to 6 years.
More than half of the children were Malays (70.6%) followed by Indians (15.7%) and
Chinese (13.7%). The subjects were diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
(84.3%) followed by acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) (13.7%) and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) (2.0%) respectively. Most of the children were in
remission status (54.9%). Underweight (<-2 SD for weight-for-age) was observed in
37.3% of the children while 17.6% of them were stunted (<-2 SD for height-for-age), and
sign(s) of malnutrition (<-2 SD) for mid upper arm circumference (MUAC)-for-age was
observed in 15.7% of the subjects. Approximately 20.0% of the subjects were in the
severe malnutrition category with respect to low serum albumin levels (<3.5g/dl). All
subjects had hemoglobin levels of less than the normal range. While the results indicated
no significant differences in the nutritional status of subjects with leukemia at different
stages of treatment, it was observed that the prevalence of malnutrition was higher in
children with newly diagnosed leukemia. Thus, the nutritional status of children with
leukemia should be monitored closely as there is a likelihood of deterioration owing to the disease.
- Full text:W020150713323250961235.pdf
