(P04-034-20) Assessment of the Nutritional Status of Under-Five Years (6-59 Months) Children Attending Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Objectives: Malnutrition is a major public health challenge in developing countries and as such the nutritional status of children serve as an indicator to rate the overall well-being of a society. In this study, we assessed the nutritional status of under-five children attending Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nigeria.

Methods: After ethical clearance, 165 under five children were randomly recruited into the study. The socio-demographic and nutritional information of the children and mother were obtained using structured questionnaires. Anthropometric assessment was done on each child and blood samples analyzed using standard biochemical techniques. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.

Results: Out of the 165 children recruited for this study, 51.5% were males. 41.2% of the children showed prevalence of Global Malnutrition, 15.8% and 25.5% indicated moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) respectively. 66.1% of the children had Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measures in the normal range of 12.5-14.6cm. There is a significant relationship between nutritional knowledge of the mother, socioeconomic status, child feeding practices, and the nutritional status of their children (P < 0.05). The biochemical parameters studied reported that average PCV (33.32±4.49) and total protein (34.53±13.26g/L) were lower than the normal range, glucose (4.52±0.97mmol/L) and Calcium (2.14±0.25mmol/L) were within the normal range and Albumin (64.16±16.87g/L) was above the normal range.

Conclusions: This study has successfully revealed the nutritional status of under five years children in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Our findings have critical implications for intervention initiatives among children in Nigeria.

Funding Sources: Self funded