Abstract
Background: Good nutrition plays an important role in the prevention of diseases in children. Childhood diarrhoea is commonly associated with under nutrition such that the frequency and severity of diarrhoea are increased with greater severity of under nutrition.
Objectives: The study was carried out to assess the nutritional status of children with diarrhoea, and to determine the impact of malnutrition on diarrhoeal characteristics.
Methods: The study was a cross-sectional comparative study which involved under-five children with diarrhoea and controls. Socio-demographic details, diarrhoeal characteristics and nutritional parameters, including weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height, were assessed in the children.
Results: Twenty-five (14.7%) of the diarrhoea patients were underweight, 31 (18.2%) stunted, 29 (17.1%) wasted and6 (3.5%) overweight. Wasting and underweight were significantly more prevalent among the children with diarrhoea, compared with the controls (p <0 xss=removed xss=removed>
Conclusion: Wasting serves as a risk factor for childhood diarrhoea, and also predisposes children to severe episodes of diarrhoea, whereas overweight status offers no protection against diarrhoea.
