Assessment of Dietary Behavior of Children Aged between 3-12 Years Suffering from Thalassemia Visiting Tertiary Care Hospitals, Lahore: Dietary behavior of Thalassemia children

Mehvish  Shehryar; Maria  Aslam; Namrah  Sohail; Saman  Qadeer; Tooba  Tariq

doi:10.52229/pbmj.v2i2.17

Authors

Mehvish Shehryar 1University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
Maria Aslam 1University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
Namrah Sohail 1University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
Saman Qadeer 1University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
Tooba Tariq 1University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52229/pbmj.v2i2.17

Abstract

Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder passed down through families in which the body makes hemoglobin in an abnormal form. Nutritional deficiencies in thalassemia children results in anemia and other medical complications. Objective:To assess dietary behavior of children aged between 3-12 years suffering from thalassemia.Methods:A cross-sectional study was carried out in the outdoor patient department of thalassemia at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore for 4 months.100 patients were selected through non probability sampling technique. Data was tabulated and analyzed by SPSS version 21.0.Results: Thalassemia was more prevalent in the age group of 8-12 years. Nutritional deficiencies in thalassemia patients caused anemia as it was evident from results that 74% of thalassemic children had pale skin. As far as dietary intake was concerned only 4% of thalassemia children were consuming meat and meat products.58% of thalassemia children consumed milk on daily basis.Only 8% took green leafy vegetables on daily basis as it contains high amount of iron.Micro nutrient deficiencies as vitamin A, C were common among thalassemia patients as only 30% were consuming fruits on daily basis.Conclusions:Most of the thalassemiacchildren were found to be malnourished due to inadequate dietary intake. The caregivers and parents should be counseled to create awareness

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