article · Anemia
A cross-sectional clinical study conducted in Kinshasa evaluated growth retardation and nutritional status among 256 children with sickle cell anaemia. Using anthropometric Z scores, underweight was identified in 47.7 percent of the cohort, wasting in 50.3 percent, and stunting in 10.5 percent. Several clinical factors were linked to poor growth, including a history of hand-foot syndrome, receiving more than three blood transfusions, receiving an initial transfusion before twelve months of age, experiencing more than two severe crises per year, a history of severe infections, and the presence of an enlarged liver. When comparing children under twelve with sickle cell anaemia to a control group of age-matched peers with normal haemoglobin, rates of stunting and underweight were significantly higher among the sickle cell patients.
Sickle cell anaemia severely impairs childhood physical development, leading to chronic undernutrition and stunting. Identifying specific clinical triggers associated with growth retardation, such as early transfusions and frequent crises, allows clinicians and carers to recognise vulnerable patients earlier. This insight supports better monitoring protocols to manage the nutritional and physical welfare of affected children.
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<i>Background</i>. The aim of this study was to investigate and determine the risk factors associated with poor growth among SCA children. <i>Methods.</i> A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kinshasa, the capital's country. The nutritional status was assessed using the Z scores of the anthropometric indices. <i>Results.</i> We gathered data on the 256 patients, 138 females (53.9%), who entered the study. The mean age at presentation was 8.4 ± 4.9 years of age. Underweight, stunting, and wasting were found, respectively, in 47.7%, 10.5%, and 50.3% of SCA children. A history of hand-foot syndrome, more than 3 blood transfusions, being less than 12 months of age when receiving the first transfusion, more than two severe sickle crises per year, a medical history of severe infections, and the presence of hepatomegaly were associated with poor growth. When comparing sickle cell patients under 12 years of age (<i>n</i> = 159) to a group of 296 age-matched children with normal Hb-AA, a significantly higher proportion of subjects with stunting and underweight were found among SCA. <i>Conclusion.</i> Nutritional status encountered in Congolese sickle cell children has been described for the first time in this study. A high prevalence of poor growth in SCA children was found in our study.
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DOI: 10.1155/2017/7916348
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