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Chapter 10 - Severe Acute Malnutrition in Childhood

from Section 2 - Mother and Child Health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2025

By
Samuel Akech ,
Steve Collins ,
Marko Kerac  and
James A. Berkley
Edited by
David Mabey ,
Martin W. Weber ,
Moffat Nyirenda ,
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu ,
Jackson Orem ,
Laura Benjamin ,
Michael Marks  and
Nicholas A. Feasey
David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem
Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey
Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
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Summary

Malnutrition is ‘any condition in which deficiency, excess or imbalance of energy, protein or other nutrients adversely affects body function and/or clinical outcome’ (Meier & Stratton 2008). In all its forms, undernutrition underlies around 45% of all childhood deaths (Black et al. 2013). This is because it increases susceptibility to, and severity of infectious diseases such as gastroenteritis and pneumonia. In turn, infections lead to reduced nutrient intake, and expenditure of nutrients for immune and inflammatory responses. Thus, malnutrition and infection are synergistic (Fig. 10.1).

Type
Chapter
Information
Principles of Medicine in Africa , pp. 124 - 136
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

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