Disease-Related Malnutrition in Pediatric Patients with Chronic Disease: A Developing Country Perspective

Malnutrition is widely known to affect growth in children. There are many studies focusing on malnutrition globally in relation to limited food access; however, there is only limited research on disease-related malnutrition, especially in chronic conditions and particularly in developing countries. This study aims to review articles on the measurement of malnutrition in pediatric chronic disease, especially in developing countries where there are resource limitations in identifying nutritional status in pediatric chronic disease with complex conditions. This state-of-the-art narrative review was conducted through search of literatures through 2 databases, and identified 31 eligible articles published from 1990 to 2021. This study found no uniformity in malnutrition definitions and no consensus regarding screening tools for the identification of the malnutrition risk in these children. In developing countries where resources are limited, instead of focusing on finding the best tools to identify the malnutrition risk, the approach should be directed toward developing systems that work best according to capacity and allow for a combination of anthropometry assessment, clinical evaluation, and observation of feeding access and tolerance on a regular basis.