title: [Assessment of nutritional status in children with atopic dermatitis].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There has been described some exacerbating factors for atopic dermatitis, including foods. Several investigations have reported controversial results about the influence of foods on atopic dermatitis. But there is scarce information about the nutritional status of patients with atopic dermatitis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the nutritional condition in a sample of children with atopic dermatitis in Old Havana, Cuba.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this descriptive study, were included 60 children, aged between 2 and 14 years, with the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis from the Allergy Department in the municipality Havana, from January to April of 2008. For every patient we evaluated anthropometrics, biochemical and immunologic measurements, as well the frequency of meals ingestion and the types of foods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that 83.3% of the patients were younger than 6 years, with a slight prevalence of females (53.3%). Ninety-seven percent of the children had a normal height for its age and 48.3% had a normal weight for their height, and 20% of the patients had malnutrition. It was detected mild and moderate anemia in 63.3%. The daily frequency of taking breakfast was carried out in 55%, the lunch in 100% and dinner in 95%. The products of regular consumption are carbohydrates, candies nd sodas in 76.6%. Fish and shellfish are consumed only for 16% of the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the studied sample of children with atopic dermatitis we found a high prevalence of malnutrition associated with poor dietary habits. Breast milk feeding was related to a less malnutrition percentage in children with atopic dermatitis.
authors.affiliation: Maestra en Ciencias en Infectología. Maestra en Ciencias en Nutrición de Salud Pública. Especialista de Primer grado en Medicina General Integral. Especialista de Primer grado en Alergología.
authors.forename: Xiomara
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: López-Campos
authors.forename: Raúl Lázaro
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Castro-Almarales
authors.forename: Juliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Massip Nicot
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology; D004485:Eczema; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009752:Nutritional Status