Prevalence and Pattern of Feeding Problems and Relationship to Motor Function Severity in Children with Cerebral Palsy in Umuahia.

BACKGROUND

Reports show that feeding problems in children with cerebral palsy (CP) significantly reduce nutritional intake and affect their nutritional status.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence and types of feeding problems and its association with functional severity and nutritional status in children with cerebral palsy.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 169 children with CP aged 1 - 17 years seen at the Neurology clinic of Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia. Gross motor skills were described using Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS).Nutritional status was determined and classified based on WHO Child Growth Standards. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.

RESULTS

Feeding problem was seen in 39.1% of the subjects, with spitting out food (57.6%), prolonged feeding time (45.5%) and choking (16.7%) being the most common types. Malnutrition occurred in 37.3% of patients. Feeding problems were significantly associated with functional severity (χ2 = 52.06 and p < 0.001) and proportion of feeding problems increased with increasing functional severity. All the subjects with functional severity level V (100%) had feeding problems. There was no statistically significant association between nutritional status and feeding problems (χ2 = 0.77 and p = 0.38), although the proportion of feeding problems was highest (44.3%) in the underweight subjects.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of feeding problem in children with CP is 39.1%. There was no association between feeding problems and nutritional status. Feeding problem was however significantly associated with functional severity. Therefore there is need for routine evaluation for feeding problems in children with CP to prevent complications.