Abstract

In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of malnutrition, which is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in childhood in our country, among hospitalized children and to investigate its relationship with socio-demographic factors. In this prospective, single-center study, we recorded anthropometric measurements and sociodemographic data of 501 patients hospitalized in the Pediatric Ward of Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital between November 2023 and February 2024 and questioned risk factors with the help of a questionnaire. Weight-for-age, height-for-age, body weight-for-height under 5 years of age and body mass index Z scores over 5 years of age were recorded for each patient. We compared risk factors with Z scores of anthropometric measurements. The malnutrition rates of the patients included in the study were 4.6% in body weight-for-height, 11.2% in weight-for-age, and 18.8% when calculated according to body weight-for-height and body mass index. In our study, we found that patients under the age of 1 year, patients with low maternal education level and families with low socioeconomic status were at high risk for malnutrition. We also found that malnutrition decreased with increasing daily screen time. Our study revealed that malnutrition is still an important problem in hospitalized children and is more common at early ages. In this context, routine use of standardized assessment tools to monitor children's growth and development is recommended. In addition, community-based interventions such as education of mothers and improving the socioeconomic status of families may be effective in reducing the prevalence of malnutrition.

Key words: Hospitalized children, malnutrition, socio-demographic factors