Assessing the silent epidemic of malnutrition in Palestinian preschool children

Maria Tsigga; Maria G. Grammatikopoulou

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2012.12.002

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Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2012, Pages 181 - 191

Assessing the silent epidemic of malnutrition in Palestinian preschool children

Authors

Maria Tsigga, Maria G. Grammatikopoulou^*^,maria@nutr.teithe.gr

Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Alexander Technological Educational Institute, Thessaloniki, Greece

^*Corresponding author. Address: Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Alexander Technological Educational Institute, Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 141, Sindos GR-57400, Greece. Tel./fax: +30 2310 791584.

Corresponding Author

Maria G. Grammatikopouloumaria@nutr.teithe.gr

Received 26 April 2012, Revised 14 November 2012, Accepted 5 December 2012, Available Online 12 January 2013.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2012.12.002 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Iron deficiency anemia; Wasting; Stunting; Underweight; Malnutrition
Abstract: Background: The nutritional status of children living under conflict is an important issue. The aim of the present study is to review all available data on malnutrition in preschool Palestinian children and provide objective results concerning the epidemic of malnutrition.

Methods: The literature for all research on the prevalence of malnutrition on Palestinian children with data collected during the period 1998–2007 was reviewed. Der Simonian-Laird Random effects model for meta-analysis was applied and cumulative analyses were performed to determine time-trends for each outcome measure (iron deficiency anemia [IDA], wasting, underweight and stunting).

Findings: The results showed that 39.5% of the children suffered from IDA, 2.9% from wasting, 4.7% were underweight and 10.9% stunted. The cumulative analyses showed a peak in the prevalence of IDA during 1999, followed by an irregular decrease afterward. The proportion of wasted and underweight children peaked during 2002 and 2004, respectively, both showing a gradual decline afterward. Chronic malnutrition appears to be almost similar during the decade 1998–2007, by demonstrating small, irregular oscillations.

Conclusions: Although the prevalence of malnutrition among Palestinian preschool children has been improved during the studied period, it still remains high. Additionally, the results show that interventions/aid have acute effects on the health of children.

Funding: None.
Copyright: © 2012 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue: 2 - 4
Pages: 181 - 191
Publication Date: 2013/01/12
ISSN (Online): 2210-6014
ISSN (Print): 2210-6006
DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2012.12.002 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Maria Tsigga
AU  - Maria G. Grammatikopoulou
PY  - 2013
DA  - 2013/01/12
TI  - Assessing the silent epidemic of malnutrition in Palestinian preschool children
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 181
EP  - 191
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2012.12.002
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2012.12.002
ID  - Tsigga2013
ER  -

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