Khatri Bijay, Shrestha Rajan, Pyakurel Manita, Upadhyay Madan Prasad
Academic & Research Department, Hospital for Children, Eye, ENT, & Rehabilitation Services, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus C., Denmark.
J Nutr Sci. 2025 Aug 6;14:e56. doi: 10.1017/jns.2025.10025. eCollection 2025.
Cross-cutting issues like nutrition have not been adequately addressed for children with severe visual impairment studying in integrated schools of Nepal. To support advocacy, this study aimed to determine the nutritional status of this vulnerable group, using a descriptive cross-sectional design involving 101 students aged 5-19 years from two integrated public schools near Kathmandu Valley and two in western Nepal. The weight-for-age z-score (WAZ), height-for-age z-score (HAZ), and body mass index-for-age z-score (BAZ) were computed and categorised using World Health Organization cut-off values (overnutrition: z-score > +2.0 standard deviations (SD), healthy weight: z-score -2.0SD to +2.0SD, moderate undernutrition: z-score ≥ -3.0SD to <-2.0SD, severe undernutrition: z-score < -3.0 SD) to assess nutritional status. A child was considered to have undernutrition for any z-scores <-2.0SD. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse variables linked to undernutrition. The mean age of participants was 11.86 ± 3.66 years, and the male-to-female ratio was nearly 2:1. Among the participants, 71.29% had blindness, and 28.71% had low vision. The mean BAZ and HAZ scores decreased with age. The WAZ, HAZ, and BAZ scores indicated that 6.46% were underweight, 20.79% were stunted, and 5.94% were thin, respectively. Overall, 23.76% of students had undernutrition and 7.92% had overnutrition. More than three in ten students had malnutrition and stunting was found to be prevalent. Older students and females were more likely to have undernutrition. These findings highlight the need for nutrition interventions within inclusive education settings, particularly targeting girls with visual impairments who may face compounded vulnerabilities.
在尼泊尔融合学校就读的重度视力障碍儿童中，像营养这样的交叉性问题尚未得到充分解决。为支持宣传倡导工作，本研究旨在确定这一弱势群体的营养状况，采用描述性横断面设计，涉及来自加德满都谷地附近两所公立融合学校以及尼泊尔西部两所学校的101名5至19岁学生。计算年龄别体重Z评分（WAZ）、年龄别身高Z评分（HAZ）和年龄别体质指数Z评分（BAZ），并使用世界卫生组织的临界值进行分类（营养过剩：Z评分＞+2.0标准差（SD），健康体重：Z评分-2.0SD至+2.0SD，中度营养不良：Z评分≥-3.0SD至＜-2.0SD，重度营养不良：Z评分＜-3.0SD）以评估营养状况。任何Z评分＜-2.0SD的儿童被视为营养不良。采用多因素逻辑回归分析与营养不良相关的变量。参与者的平均年龄为11.86±3.66岁，男女比例接近2:1。在参与者中，71.29%为失明，28.71%为低视力。平均BAZ和HAZ评分随年龄下降。WAZ、HAZ和BAZ评分表明，分别有6.46%体重不足、20.79%发育迟缓、5.94%消瘦。总体而言，23.76%的学生存在营养不良，7.92%存在营养过剩。超过十分之三的学生存在营养不良，且发育迟缓普遍存在。年龄较大的学生和女性更易出现营养不良。这些发现凸显了在全纳教育环境中开展营养干预的必要性，尤其是针对可能面临多重不利因素的视力障碍女童。
