PURPOSE: To assess the pattern of nutritional recovery in malnourished children. This prospective analysis was conducted between September 1995 and November 1996 at the Center for Recovery and Nutrition Education (CREN) in São Paulo, Brazil. Of the thirty-eight children studied, 47.4% were infants (nine girls and nine boys) and 52.6% preschool children (twelve boys and eight girls). METHOD: Thirty eight children were studed by velocity of W/A and H/A gain in standard deviation or Z score, according to weight and height median of NCHS. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in the weight-for-age (W/A)(p=0.012), height-for-age (H/A) ( p=0.001) from the time of admission.The difference in the velocity of W/A gain between infants (0.299-Z/year) and preschool children (0.684-Z/year) with more than six months of treatment, was found to be statistically significant (p=0.038). The difference in the velocity of H/A gain for infants (0.794-Z/year) and for preschool chidren (0.506-Z/year), was not statistically significant (p=0.166). In regards to gender, there was not a statistically significant difference between boys and girls in the velocity of W/A gain (0.540 and 0.524-Z/year, respectively). The difference in velocity of H/A gain was statisically significant, 0.485-Z/year for boys and 0.856-Z/year for girls (p=0.043). CONCLUSION: These findings show that there are differences in the nutritional recovery patterns between gender and age groups.
Nutrition rehabilitation; Protein-energy malnutrition; Anthropometry
