nutritional assessment and weight-height development of sickle cell children in northeast brazil

Objective: To evaluate the weight-height development and the nutritional status of a sickle cell anemia infantile sample in relation to zinc seric levels and to bone age in comparison to a control group of eutrophic children of the same Brazilian region. Methods: There were studied 66 sickle cell children (GE) and 50 eutrophic ones (GC). The nutritional status was assessed using Rohrer Index, Z-score analysis of weight/age, height/age and body mass index (BMI). Zinc seric level (SZn), growth velocity (VC) and bone age (IO) were assessed using the standards of the National Center for Health Statistic (NCHS) data and the results obtained from the GC evaluation. Results: Both groups had similar Rohrer Index. GE presented weight/age and height/age Z scores and BMI of underdevelopment levels with significant statistical difference. VC and IO were also lower in GE. The mean SZn in GE was significantly lower than in GC. Conclusion: The studied sickle cell children were born with normal stature, after that an important decrease in weight-height development occurred, which may be related to under-nourishing status, bone age delay, smaller growth velocity and worse zinc seric levels.