Protein energy malnutrition epidemiology and demographics

Protein energy malnutrition more prevalent among Africans http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp
Courtesy to CDC

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Omodamola Aje B.Sc, M.D. [2] Mahshid Mir, M.D. [3]

Overview

The prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition in children under 5 years is estimated to be 150 million cases annually. In Nigeria, the prevalence is as high as 41,600 per 100,000 children. Protein-energy malnutrition is majorly a disease of the developing countries. There is no racial or sexual predisposition.

Epidemiology and Demographics

Prevalence

The prevalence of protein energy malnutrition in children under 5 years is estimated to be 41,600 per 100,000 children in developing countries like Nigeria.^[1]

The table below show the prevalence of protein energy malnutrition in children under 5 years of age in developing countries in 1995.

Region	Stunting (%)	Underweight (%)	Wasting (%)
Africa	39	28	8
Asia	41	35	10
Latin America and the caribbean	18	10	3
Oceania	31	23	5

Case fatality rate

The case-fatality rate of protein energy malnutrition is unknown.

Age

Protein energy malnutrition commonly affects children under 5 years of age.

Gender

There prevalence and incidence of protein energy malnutrition does not vary by gender.

Race

There is no racial predilection for protein energy malnutrition but it is a disease seen more frequently in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America.

Developed countries

Protein energy malnutrition is almost never seen in developed countries. It is a disease of underdeveloped/developing countries. However, some studies conducted in 2005 – 2007 on children in United States that an estimated 3.5 million children under the age of 5 are at risk of hunger due to an underutilization of existing programs designed to address the issue of proper distribution such as food stamps or school meals.

Developing countries

Protein energy malnutrition is a disease prevalent in the underdeveloped/developing countries of the world. It is widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa and common in Southeast Asia and Central America occurring in young children living in areas with endemic food insecurity or famine. Some of the major countries stricken by kwashiorkor include but are not limited to India, China, Pakistan, Tanzania, North Korea, Nigeria and Kenya.

Disability-adjusted life years (DALY) lost from Protein-energy malnutrition in 2012 per million persons:

Courtesy to WHO
Source=Data from World Health Organization Disease Burden Estimates for 2000-2012
Vector map from BlankMap-World6, compact.svg by Canuckguy et al.

15-130

136-142

146-146

147-331

379-1,046

1,058-1,606

1,736-2,773

2,825-2,825

2,849-11,341

11,563-60,750

Countries are divided approximately by population into ten groups.
Dependencies of France, United Kingdom, United States of America, The Netherlands and Denmark are grouped with their respective countries.

References

↑ Abidoye RO (2000). “A study of prevalence of protein energy malnutrition among 0-5 years in rural Benue State, Nigeria”. Nutr Health. 13 (4): 235–47. PMID 10768411.

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[pmid10768411-1] Abidoye RO (2000). “A study of prevalence of protein energy malnutrition among 0-5 years in rural Benue State, Nigeria”. Nutr Health. 13 (4): 235–47. PMID 10768411.

[1]