Nutritional Status of Children with Congenital Heart Diseases at a University Teaching Hospital, North-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Congenital heart diseases (CHD) in children may be associated with varying degrees of undernutrition due to poor intake, impaired nutrient utilization and increased metabolic demands in the presence of heart failure and hypoxia. Objective: To assess the nutritional status of children with CHD at the Paediatric Cardiology Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from November 2014 to April 2017. Children aged up to 15 years diagnosed with CHD were assessed using the WHO z-score tables for weight for age (underweight) for those below 10 years, weight for height (wasting) for those below 5 years, height for age (stunting) and body mass index for age (thinness) for all the subjects. Social class and echocardiographic diagnosis were noted. Data was analysed with SPSS version 22. Results: Of 90 children with CHD, 79 (87.8%) were aged below 5 years, 62 (68.9%) had acyanotic CHD while 28 (31.1%) had cyanotic CHD. Male to female ratio was 1.5:1. Underweight was detected in 72.9% (62 of 85 below 10 years of age), while 60.8% (48 of 79 below 5 years of age) were wasted. Prevalence of stunting and thinness each was 57.8% in all the subjects. Those with acyanotic CHD had higher proportional prevalence of wasting (p = 0.08) and underweight (p = 0.04). Age < 1 year and female gender were associated with wasting (p = 0.03) while low social class was associated with stunting (p = 0.02). Conclusion: Prevalence of undernutrition is high amongst children with CHD in UDUTH, Sokoto.