Table 2.
Factors associated with wasting and stunting in children with sickle cell anaemia
| Characteristics | Wasting | Stunting | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasted/severely wasted, n = 53 | Normal weight n = 180 | P value | Stunted/Severely stunted, n = 27 | Normal Height n = 206 | P value | |
| Nutritional status | ||||||
| Weight, mean (SD), kg | 28.5 (8.9) | 25.0 (10.5) | 0.03 | 24.9 (9.4) | 25.9 (10.4) | 0.632 |
| Height, mean (SD), m | 1.41 (0.17) | 1.24 (0.21) | <0.01 | 1.27 (0.25) | 1.28 (0.20) | 0.752 |
| BMI, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 13.89 (1.41) | 15.50 (2.09) | <0.001 | 15.00 (1.71) | 15.15 (2.11) | 0.700 |
| Weight for age z scorea, mean (SD) | −1.98 (0.87) | −0.51 (1.04) | <0.001 | −2.04 (1.10) | −0.58 (1.06) | <0.001 |
| Height for age z score, mean (SD) | −1.31 (1.23) | −0.38 (1.28) | <0.001 | −2.79 (0.68) | −0.30 (1.10) | <0.001 |
| BMI for age z score, mean (SD) | −2.82 (0.65) | −0.63 (0.98) | <0.001 | −1.86 (1.61) | −1.03 (1.22) | 0.002 |
| Demographics | ||||||
| Age, mean (SD), year | 12.2 (3.7) | 8.1 (3.6) | <0.001 | 11.2 (5.0) | 8.7 (3.8) | 0.002 |
| Adolescent, n (%) | 38 (71.7) | 60 (33.3) | <0.001 | 18 (66.7) | 80 (38.8) | 0.006 |
| Age at diagnosis of SCA, median(range) year | 2.00 (0-14.0) | 1.8 (0-12.0) | 0.046 | 2.0 (0.0-12.0) | 2.0 (0.0-14.0) | 0.310 |
| Male, n (%) | 40 (75.5) | 102 (56.7) | 0.014 | 16 (59.3) | 126 (61.2) | 0.849 |
| Low socioeconomic status, n (%) | 31 (58.5) | 61 (33.9) | 0.001 | 13 (48.1) | 79 (38.3) | 0.327 |
| SCA-related features | ||||||
| ≥1 SCA-related complicationb, n (%) | 15 (28.3) | 39 (21.7) | 0.314 | 6 (22.2) | 48 (23.3) | 0.901 |
| Severe bone pain, previous year, n (%) | 12 (22.6) | 42 (23.2) | 0.916 | 5 (18.5) | 49 (23.8) | 0.542 |
| Hospitalisations, previous year, n (%) | 16 (30.2) | 62 (34.4) | 0.564 | 8 (29.6) | 70 (34.0) | 0.652 |
| Blood transfusion, ever, n (%) | 33 (62.3) | 85 (47.2) | 0.054 | 15 (55.6) | 103 (50.0) | 0.587 |
| Haemoglobin level, mean (SD), g/dL | 8.3 (1.6) | 8.4 (1.1) | 0.927 | 8.4 (2.1) | 8.4 (1.1) | 0.764 |
| Foetal haemoglobin level, (range), % | 6.4 (1.4-19.1) | 8.5 (1.0-28.6) | 0.035 | 5.7 (1.3-15.8) | 8.2 (1.0-28.6) | 0.014 |
| Total white cell count, x103/ml | 12.9 (4.2) | 13.8 (4.7) | 0.212 | 15.2 (6.5) | 13.4 (4.3) | 0.051 |
| SCA-related interventions | ||||||
| Daily oral penicillin intake, n (%) | 4 (7.5) | 48 (26.7) | 0.003 | 3 (11.1) | 49 (23.8) | 0.137 |
| Hydroxyurea or chronic transfusion, n (%) | 9 (17.0) | 50 (27.8) | 0.112 | 3 (11.1) | 56 (27.2) | 0.071 |
aweight for age z score presented for 135 children younger than 10 years bany of leg ulcer, acute chest syndrome, stroke, avascular necrosis of the hip, priapism or kidney disease