Alleviation: An International Journal of Nutrition, Gender & Social Development, ISSN 2348-9340 Volume 4, Number 4 (2017), 1-9
© Arya PG College, Panipat & Business Press India Publication, Delhi
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Lower Respiratory Tract Diseases (LRT) in Children Aged 0-5 Years

Introduction

Nutrition is the science that deals with all the various factors of which food is composed and the way in which proper nourishment is brought about. The council of food and nutrition of the American Dietetic Association defines nutrition as “The science of foods, the nutrients and the substances therein, their action, interaction and balance in relation to health and diseases.”

Human nutritional requirements depend on the age and sex of the individual. Nutrition plays an important role in all age groups.

Respiratory illnesses are common in children under 5 years of age. Most of the children will develop three to eight respiratory illnesses a year.

Most cases are mild, but one- third of all hospitalizations in this age group are due to respiratory problems including bronchiolitis, asthma and pneumonia.

Bronchial asthma is a serious global health problem. There are 5 per cent to 10 per cent of persons of all ages who suffer from this chronic airway disorder. It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by bronchial hyper reactivity and a variable degree of airway obstruction. An atopic diathesis i.e. a genetic predisposition towards the production of immunoglobulin E(IgE) antibodies in response to pollen, house dust, mites, fungi, or animal derived proteins is the most important risk factor for bronchial asthma (Ukena 2008).

American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (ACCAI) stated that Asthma and allergy can be hereditary. If both of a child’s parents have allergies, the child has a 75 per cent chance of being allergic. If one of the parents is allergic, or if a close relative has allergies, the child has a 30 to 40 per cent chance of having some form of allergy. If neither parent has allergy, the chance is only 10 to 15 per cent.

For a long time, asthma has been known to cluster in families, and family studies were the first to suggest that the disease was genetically inherited. More recent family studies had found that there were 60 per cent increased risk of atopy when both parents were affected (Aberg 1993).

Bronchiolitis is an acute lower respiratory tract infection in early childhood caused by different viruses, with coughing, wheeze and poor nutrition as the major symptoms. A substantial proportion of children will experience at least one episode with bronchiolitis, and as much as 2-3 per cent of all children will be hospitalized with bronchiolitis during their first year of life. Bronchiolitis is the most common reason for hospitalization of children in many countries, challenging both economy, area and staffing in pediatric departments. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common virus causing bronchiolitis, occurring in epidemic during winter months.

Bronchiolitis is a disease in children less than 2 years of age that is characterized by the acute inflammation, edema and necrosis of epithelial cells lining small airways, and increased mucus production, leading to bronchospasm, wheezing, hyper expansion of the lungs and hypoxia.

Every year 1.9 million children under 5 years of age die from pneumonia. Pneumonia is an illness, usually caused by infection, in which the lungs become inflamed and congested, reducing oxygen exchange and leading to cough and breathlessness. It affects individuals of all ages but occurs most frequently in children and the elderly. Among children, pneumonia is the most common cause of death worldwide. It can be caused by bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection as well as by non-infectious agents. Most severe cases of pneumonia are caused by bacteria, of which the most important are Streptococcus pneumonia (Pneumococcus) and Haemophilus influenza.

Occurrence of pneumonia is often experienced in early childhood than at any other age. Lack of rapid, commercially available, accurate laboratory tests for most pathogens make it very difficult to identify the causes of childhood pneumonia. Children had previously been excluded from treatment guidelines of differences between adults and children in frequency and type of underlying illness and causative agents (Jadavji 1997). The present study was conducted to assess the incidence of lower respiratory tract diseases (LRT) diseases and infection in children aged 0-5 years.

Methodology

For collecting the data for the study, three hospitals (One govt. hospital and two private hospitals) were selected (General Hospital, Sec-16, Chandigarh; Advance Mother and Child Care Hospital, Baltana; Verma Clinic, Baltana). Samples of 200 children were selected from these three hospitals. The children with LRT diseases undergoing treatment in hospital and their mothers were interviewed on all days from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in general hospital, sec-16, Chandigarh and from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in private hospitals, Baltana. In the present study, the subjects were of 0-5 years of age. During the process of data collection, the sample was randomly selected. The data were collected by questionnaire method comprising of open-ended questions. The questionnaire consists of questions of general information, anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and body mass index), medical information, dietary information and hygiene. The questionnaire was explained to the subjects in the local language, for better understanding and to elicit desirable response. The respondents were made to feel free and comfortable to ask any query. The pilot survey was carried out on a few subjects to test the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Analysis of data was done by SPSS software (19) version.

Results and Discussion

Pneumonia was prevalent in age group of o-6 months (46%), followed by above 12 months (27%) and 6-12 months (24%). Scott et al (2008) also reported that pneumonia is the leading cause of mortality among children of 5 years of age.

It can be interpreted from Table 1 that bronchiolitis was found maximum in 6-12 months old children (62%) , followed by 0-6 months (52%) and above 12 months (30%). Yorita et al (2008) also stated that bronchiolitis is a disease in children less than 2 years of age. Bronchial asthma was prevalent in children aged above 12 months (43%), followed by 0-6 months (2%) and 6-12 months (14%).

Conclusion

Awareness regarding prevention of lower respiratory tract diseases among mothers should be created so that incidences of diseases can be reduced.

References

Jadavji T, Law B, Lebel MH, Kennedy WA, Gold R, and Wang Eel (1997) A Practical Guide for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Pneumonia. Canadian Medical Association Journal (156): 703-711.
Scott JAG, Brooks WA, Peiris JSM, Holtzman D, and Mulholland EK (2008) Pneumonia Research to Reduce Childhood Mortality in the Developing World. Journal of Clinical Investigation (118): 1291-1299.
Ukena D, Fishman L, and Niebling WB (2008) Bronchial Asthma: Diagnosis and Long –Term Treatment in Adult. DtschArztebl Int. 105(21): 385–394.
Yorita KL, Holman RC, Sejvar JJ, Steiner CA, and Schonberger LB (2008) Infectious Disease Hospitalizations among Infant in the United States. Pediatrics (121): 244-52.