Z-SCORE: AN INDICATOR OF PROTEIN-CALORIE MALNUTRITION
Keywords:
Z-SCORE, PROTEIN-CALORIE MALNUTRION, DYSTROFIC INFANTAbstract
Ac-cording to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is a chronic disorder of nutritional status, especially among infants and young children, triggered by the imbalance between the nutritional intake and the body’s needs to ensure the harmonious growth and development and the fulfillment of the body’s specific functions. Aim: WHO introduced the Z-score, which has been used for child growth standards; since then, malnutrition and its severity have been determined according to this score. Material and methods: We conducted a ret-rospective study of the cases of malnutrition admitted to the “Pediatric Recovery” depart-ment between May and December 2016. The sample considered for the study includes 74 in-fants showing signs of malnutrition at the moment of hospitalization: significant weight loss, asthenia, fatigue etc. Results: Of all the indicators used for the assessment of malnutrition, the Z-score is the most reliable. It expresses the anthropometric value in the number of standard deviations that are inferior or superior to the mean reference value. The graphical processing of the data showed that the Z-score for the height on admission generally ranged from -3.5 to -0.5, being below the reference limit. Conclusions: The Z-score is harder to calculate, but it is age-independent and it accurately diagnoses malnutrition.
References
2. Belluscio LM et al. Early protein malnutrition negatively impacts physical growth and neurological reflexes and evokes anxiety and depressive-like behaviors. Physiol Behav 2014; 129: 237-254.
3. *** UNICEF. Statusul nutriţional al copiilor cu vârstă de până la 5 ani, România, 2005. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/romania/ro/brochure_final_Ro.pdf.
4. Anton DT. Pediatrie – noţiuni fundamentale. Editura ”Gr. T. Popa” U.M.F. Iaşi, 2012.
5. *** WHO and UNICEF. Infant and young child feeding, 2014. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/nutrition/files/Final_IYCF_programming_guide_June_2012.pdf
6. *** WHO, Global and regional trends by WHO Regions, 1990-2013, Underweight, Global Health Observatory Data Repository. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/170250/1/9789240694439_eng.pdf
7. Florescu L, Vremera T, Matei M. Cross - sectional study to evaluate risk factors in infants’ malnutrition. Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi 2011; 3(115): 699-705.
8. Davidson AJ, McCormick EV, Dickinson LM, Haemer MA, Knierim SD, Hambidge SJ. Population-Level Obesity Surveillance: Monitoring Childhood Body Mass Index z-Score in a Safety-Net System. Acad Pediatr 2014; 14(6): 632-638.
9. Gazae B, Nigatu R. Nutritional status of children under five years of age in Shire Indaselassie, North Ethiopia: Examining the prevalence and risk factors. Kantakt 2014; 16: 161-170.
10. González-Torres MC, Gavia-García G, Nájera-Medina O. Infant Malnutrition. In: McManus LM, Mitchell RN (editors). Pathobiology of Human Disease. San Diego: Elsevier, 2014, 527-541.
11. Pertea L, Diaconeasa L, Burlea M, Munteanu M, Brumariu O. Stature-Weight Retardation and Protein-Energy Malnutrition in Children with Chronic Dialysis. Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi 2010; 2(114): 408-414.
12. Taha H, Hassan H, Alrasheed A, Nazik E. Prevalence of malnutrition among children under five years old in Khartoum State, Sudan. Polish Annals of Medicine 2014; 21: 1-7.
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
COPYRIGHT
Once an article is accepted for publication, MSJ requests a transfer of copyrights for published articles.
COPYRIGHT TRANSFER FORM FOR
REVISTA MEDICO-CHIRURGICALĂ A SOCIETĂȚII DE MEDICI ȘI NATURALIȘTI DIN IAȘI /
THE MEDICAL-SURGICAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF PHYSICIANS AND NATURALISTS FROM IASI
We, the undersigned authors of the manuscript entitled
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
warrant that this manuscript, which is submitted for publication in the REVISTA MEDICO-CHIRURGICALĂ, has not been published and it is not under consideration for publication in another journal.
- we give the consent for publication in the REVISTA MEDICO-CHIRURGICALĂ, in printed and electronic format and we transfer unconditioned and complete the copyright of this manuscript to the REVISTA MEDICO-CHIRURGICALĂ, in the event of its acceptance.
- the manuscript does not break the intellectual property rights of any other person.
- we have read the submitted version of the manuscript and we are fully responsible for the content.
Names and signatures of authors / copyright owners (the following sequence is the authorship of the article):
- ______________________________/_________________________
- ______________________________/_________________________
- ______________________________/_________________________
N.B. All the authors must sign this form