Evaluation of Nutritional Status of Children with Thalassemia

Öz

Objective: The research was carried out to examine the nutritional status of children with thalassemia diagnosis between the ages of 2-17. Method: The study was conducted with 23 children diagnosed with thalassemia, aged 2-17, who met the inclusion criteria and volunteered among 86 thalassemia patients. The data were collected face to face with a questionnaire consisting of children's sociodemographic characteristics, nutritional habits, anthropometric measurements, biochemical findings, and food consumption record questions. The data obtained from the research were evaluated using the SPSS 26,0 package program and using appropriate statistical tests. Results: The 65,2% of the participants were girls and 34,8% were boys, with a mean age of 10.3±5.2 years. All of the children (100,0%) participating in the study had low hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and high ferritin levels. It was determined that 52.2% of the children with thalassemia used nutritional supplements and the three most used nutritional supplements were vitamin D (52,2%), folic acid (26,1%) and zinc (21,7%). Approximately half of the girls with thalassemia had insufficient energy (43.5%) and calcium (53,3%) intakes; boys were found to had insufficient energy (50,0%), folate (50,0%), vitamin C (37,5%), calcium (37,5%) and magnesium (37,5%) intakes. It was determined that 30% of the children aged between 2-10 years had insufficient folate intake and 40,0% of them had insufficient calcium intake. Besides, 53,8% of the children aged between 11-17 years had insufficient intake of vitamin C and calcium, and 38,5% of them had insufficient intake of zinc. Conclusion: It is detected that children with thalassemia receive insufficient macro and micronutrients. The present study found out that children with thalassemia need nutritional monitoring to determine that they are at risk for nutritional deficiency. Further studies should focus directly on the impact of diet quality and nutritional status on health outcomes in Turkish children with thalassemia in a larger sample.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Nutrition status
• Energy intake
• Macronutrients
• Micronutrients
• Thalassemia

Talasemi Hastası Çocukların Beslenme Durumunun Değerlendirilmesi

Öz

Amaç: Araştırma 2-17 yaş arası talasemi tanılı çocukların beslenme durumunu incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Araştırma, 86 talasemi hastasından dahil edilme kriterlerini karşılayan ve gönüllü olan 2-17 yaş arası, talasemi tanısı alan 23 çocuk ile yürütülmüştür. Veriler çocukların sosyodemografik özellikleri, beslenme alışkanlıkları, antropometrik ölçümleri, biyokimyasal bulguları ve besin tüketim kaydı sorularından oluşan anket formu ile yüz yüze toplanmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen veriler SPSS 25,0 paket programı kullanılarak uygun istatistiki testler kullanılarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Katılımcıların %65,2’si kız ve %34,8’i erkek olup, ortalama yaş 10,3±5,2 yıl olarak saptanmıştır. Çalışmaya katılan çocukların tamamının (%100,0) hemoglobin ve hematokrit düzeyleri düşük, ferritin düzeyleri yüksekti. Talasemi hastası çocukların %52,2’si besin desteği kullandığını ve en çok kullandıkları üç besin desteğinin D vitamini (%52,2), folik asit (%26,1) ve çinko (%21,7) olduğu belirlenmiştir. Talasemi hastası kız çocuklarının yaklaşık yarısının enerji (%43,5) ve kalsiyum (%53,3) alımlarının yetersiz olduğu; erkek çocukların enerji (%50,0), folat, (%50,0), C vitamini (%37,5), kalsiyum (%37,5) ve magnezyum (%37,5) alımlarının yetersiz olduğu saptanmıştır. İki-10 yaş aralığındaki çocukların %30,0’unun folat, %40’ının kalsiyum alımlarının yetersiz olduğu saptanmıştır. Bunun yanı sıra, 11-17 yaş aralığındaki çocukların %53,8’inin C vitamini ve kalsiyum, %38,5’inin çinko alımlarının yetersiz olduğu saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Talasemi hastası çocukların makro ve mikro besin ögelerini yetersiz aldığı saptanmıştır. Bu çalışma talasemi tanılı çocukların beslenme yetersizliği açısından risk altında olduğunu saptamak için beslenme izlemine ihtiyaçları olduğunu belirlemiştir. Gelecekteki çalışmalar, Türk talasemi hastası çocuklarda daha geniş örneklemde diyet kalitesi ve beslenme durumunun sağlık sonuçları üzerindeki etkisine doğrudan odaklanmalıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Beslenme durumu
• Enerji alımı
• Makro besin ögesi
• Mikro besin ögesi
• Talasemi

Kaynakça

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