Feeding problems,growth and nutritional status in children with cerebral palsy |
| |
| Authors: | Pétur B. Júlíusson Jon Skranes Guro Andersen Torstein Vik |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. .Department of Clinical Medicine, Section for Paediatrics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway;2. .Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s and Women’s Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway;3. .The Cerebral Palsy Registry of Norway, Vestfold Hospital Trust, T?nsberg, Norway |
| |
| Abstract: | ![]()
Aim: The aim was to estimate the prevalence of feeding and nutritional problems in children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Norway. Methods: Data were abstracted from the Norwegian CP Register for 661 (368 boys) children born 1996–2003 (mean age 6 years 7 months; SD: 1.5). For children born from 1999 to 2003, weight and height were available. Body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) was used to assess nutritional status. Results: One hundred and thirty‐two (21%) children with CP were completely dependent on assistance during feeding. The prevalence of gastrostomy tube feeding was 14%. Longer duration of gastrostomy tube feeding was associated with higher weight and BMI, but not with height. Only 63% of the children with CP had normal BMI, 7% had grade 3 thinness, while the prevalence of overweight and obesity in our study was 16%. In all, 20% of the children had mean z‐scores for weight and/or height below – 2 SD. Conclusion: Feeding problems in children with CP were common and associated with poor linear growth. A high proportion of the children were undernourished. Moreover, our results suggest that gastrostomy tube feeding may have been introduced too late in some children. |
| |
| Keywords: | Cerebral palsy Feeding problems Gastrostomy tube feeding Growth Nutritional status |
|
|
