title: [Infantile malnutrition: social cost of respiratory and digestive pathology].
abstract: Information from the hospital records of 1,660 children under two years of age admitted to the Hospital Roberto del Río (Northern District of Santiago) during 1979, allowed carrying out an analysis of the effect of malnutrition upon the admission rate and length of stay for diarrhea and respiratory infections. The following indexes were calculated and related to nutritional status: a) Admission rate for the total population of children under two years of age from the Northern District of Santiago; b) frequency of associated and intercurrent pathology, and c) length of stay. The three indexes evidenced a clear relationship with nutritional status (P much less than 0.01), showing a progressive deterioration as the relationship weight/age became impaired. The admission rate for diarrhea was nine times higher, and the length of stay 16.9% higher (P less than 0.001) in children with mild malnutrition as compared with normal patients. For respiratory infections the rates were 2.4 and 24.7% higher (P less than 0.001) in malnourished patients than in normals. The excess of admission rate for diarrhea and respiratory pathology, conditioned by malnutrition in the Northern District of Santiago, was estimated as the cost equivalent to 10,609 extra days of stay, with an annual cost above US$300,000. The investment of such an amount of money in health promotion and protection activities would certainly increase its social cost-effectiveness.
mesh_terms: D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics
vernacular_title: Desnutrición infantil: costo social por patologia respiratoria y digestiva.