Paper Title
A CROSS-SECTIONAL COHORT STUDY AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL FOR ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HAEMOGLOBIN AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS IN SEVERE ACUTE MALNUTRITION IN CHILDREN AGED 6-59 MONTHS

Abstract
Abstract- Background - India has the highest incidence of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). One of the comorbidities that increases mortality in children who are chronically undernourished is severe anaemia, despite the fact that it needs greater attention. LFT, KFT, and CBC abnormalities are seen in SAM children, however it is unclear how these abnormalities relate to the prognosis. Objective - The aim was to describe the anthropometric assessment and biochemical profile of children with SAM. Study Design - This cross-sectional cohort study was performed at the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, and at the Department of Biotechnology at Amity University, Jaipur. Participants - 106 patients of SAM enrolled, 53 grouped as complicated SAM (Group 1) (Dehydration and Severe Dehydration) and 53 diagnosed as non-complicated SAM (Group 2). Results - In comparison to Group I, Group II's mean values for height, weight, MUAC, head circumference, and BMI for age were all considerably greater, with p-values of 0.001. Haemoglobin levels were substantially lower in Group I (8.86 2.21 g/dL) than in Group II (10.0 1.83 g/dL), with a p-value of 0.003. A p-value of 0.026 indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of anaemia between the groups. As a result, it can be inferred that Group I had a higher prevalence of anaemia than Group II. Conclusion - Anaemia significantly increased the risk of complicated SAM with an odds ratio of 2.60 (95% CI, 1.07-6.31, p=0.001). Study suggests that anaemia may play a significant role in the development of complications in children with SAM who are at high risk. Keywords- Severe Acute Malnutrition, Anemia, Haemoglobin, Anthropometric.