Wannyana Daisy, Bagonza Arthur, Mwima Sandrah Joyce, Nalwadda Christine, Ndejjo Rawlance
Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, Makerere University Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Public Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Victoria University, Kampala, Uganda.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 26;20(9):e0333076. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0333076. eCollection 2025.
Wasting is a major concern among pediatric cancer patients and significantly affects treatment outcomes and quality of life. However, limited data exist on the prevalence of wasting and its associated factors in low-income contexts. This study determined the prevalence of wasting and its associated factors among pediatric cancer patients aged 2--17 years at the Uganda Cancer Institute.
An institutionally based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 systematically randomly selected caregiver‒child pairs. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariable analyses were conducted using STATA version 14. Variables with p-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Among 270 pediatric cancer patients aged 2-17 years, 27.4% (n = 74) were wasted. Children aged 5 years and older had a 20% higher prevalence of wasting (aPR = 1.2; p = 0.002). Cancers near the gastrointestinal tract were associated with a 10% greater prevalence of wasting (aPR = 1.1; p = 0.028). Wasting was lower by 20% among children whose caregivers had tertiary education (aPR = 0.8; p = 0.002), whereas treatment effects increased wasting prevalence by 10% (aPR = 1.1; p = 0.013).
Wasting is a prevalent form of malnutrition among pediatric cancer patients requiring the integration of nutritional services to address the nutritional needs of children, especially those aged greater than 5 years, those with cancers along the gastro-intestinal tract and those experiencing treatment effects. Additionally, health and nutrition education programs tailored to the caregiver's level of education are needed.
消瘦是儿科癌症患者的一个主要问题，会显著影响治疗效果和生活质量。然而，在低收入环境中，关于消瘦的患病率及其相关因素的数据有限。本研究确定了乌干达癌症研究所2至17岁儿科癌症患者中消瘦的患病率及其相关因素。
对270对系统随机抽取的照顾者-儿童配对进行了一项基于机构的横断面研究。使用STATA 14版本进行单变量、双变量和多变量分析。p值<0.05的变量被认为具有统计学意义。
在270名2至17岁的儿科癌症患者中，27.4%（n = 74）存在消瘦。5岁及以上的儿童消瘦患病率高20%（调整后患病率比[aPR]=1.2；p = 0.002）。胃肠道附近的癌症与消瘦患病率高10%相关（aPR = 1.1；p = 0.028）。照顾者拥有高等教育的儿童消瘦率低20%（aPR = 0.8；p = 0.002），而治疗影响使消瘦患病率增加10%（aPR = 1.1；p = 0.013）。
消瘦是儿科癌症患者中一种普遍的营养不良形式，需要整合营养服务以满足儿童的营养需求，特别是5岁以上的儿童、患有胃肠道癌症的儿童以及受到治疗影响的儿童。此外，还需要根据照顾者的教育水平制定健康和营养教育计划。
