Conséquences de la dénutrition chez l'enfant et l'adolescent. Mortalité, morbidité, conséquences médicoéconomiques

In the developed countries, the sick children are at risk of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). Marasmus is the most common form of severe PEM in such children. Its major characteristics are low muscle and fat masses with the presence of marked facial, axillary and inguinal skinfolds. Furthermore the marastic children are irritable and depressed. When the PEM is moderate, which is more frequent, the affected children present a failure to thrive. Severe and moderate PEM have multiple functional consequences on different systems and organs with an impact on mortality, morbidity and costs. In this paper, the functional consequences on the immune system, digestive tract, liver, lung, heart, kidney, skin, bone and brain are passed in review. To end, some comments are done about the particularities of PEM in mental anorexia and obesity.