 Dietary assessment of children with cerebral palys: case control study in Isparta

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate nutrient intakes and dietary
assessment of the children with cerebral palsy (CP) in
our region, and to investigate the effects of various
factors specific to this condition.
Method: Forty-three children (24 males 19 females;
mean age 8.1±4.2 years) with CP admitting to an
outpatient center were included in the study. In
addition, a control group of 27 children were recruited
from the siblings of the children with CP. All caretakers
were interviewed and a three-day dietary record of the
children with CP and controls were obtained.
Results: Overall, 32.6% of the children were
quadriplegic, 44.2% diplegic and 14.0% hemiplegic. The
mean percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowances
for energy intake was lower in the children with CP
than that in the controls (p<0.05), while no differences
were detected between the groups according to
protein, calcium, iron and vitamin C intakes. We also
observed that there were differences in the amount of
daily nutrients in the CP group according to some
characteristic like gender and age.
Conclusion: These results showed that daily nutrient
intakes of the children with CP in Isparta province are
insufficient.
Key words:  Cerebral palsy, children, nutritional intake,
dietary assessment.

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