Organised By
Organised By
1Seksyen 19 Shah Alam Health Clinic, Petaling District Health Office, Selangor Malaysia
2Dept. of Nutrition & Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, International Medical University of Malaysia
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Individuals with disabilities are at increased risk for nutrition related problems. The cross-sectional study was therefore carried out to evaluate the nutritional status of children and young adults with special needs (CYAWSN) aged 3-30 years at community based-rehabilitation (CBR) centre in Sungai Buloh.
METHODS: Socio-demographic data, types of disability and anthropometric measurements including body weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were completed for 53 CYAWSN to determine their nutritional status. Individuals with various intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) represent the highest proportion of subjects (n=29) followed by Down Syndrome (DS) (n-=14) and Cerebral Palsy (CP) (n=10).
RESULTS: Mean subjects age was 13.9 ± 6.5 years. Males had significant lower mean bodyweight values compared to females (p<0.05) (30.5 ± 19.9 kg and 48.6 ± 20.1 kg). The BMI differed from females to males (p<0.001) (22.3 ± 5.8 kgm2 and 16.4 ± 5.3 kgm2 respectively). From 53 participants, 15.1% were overweight (BMI˃+1SD˂+2SD & BMI>25 kgm2) and 9.4% subjects were obese (BMI˃+2SD & BMI>30 kgm2). Magnitude of thinnest among subjects was found to be 18.9% (BMI<-2SD & BMI<18.5 kgm2) while 13.2% of subjects were stunted (height-for-age <-2SD). Prevalence of overweight or obese subjects with DS was 35.7% (n=5). DS subjects had significant shorter stature compared to others (r=-0.332, p<0.05). Individuals with CP and BMI according to Growth Motor Function Classification Systems (GMFCS) correlated negatively (r= -0.367, p=0.007).
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of malnutrition is high in individuals with disabilities. Therefore, annual anthropometric screening by healthcare providers is very important for early identification and intervention for nutrition problems in order to improve nutritional status and health outcomes for CYAWSN.
Keywords: children and young adults with special needs, nutritional status, community based-rehabilitation