title: Fish oil supplementation is beneficial on caloric intake, appetite and mid upper arm muscle circumference in children with leukaemia.
abstract: A randomised trial was carried out to determine the effect of supplementation of fish oil among 51 children with leukaemia aged 4 to 12 years on appetite level, caloric intake, body weight and lean body mass. They were randomly allocated into the trial group (TG) and the control group (CG). At baseline, 30.8% of TG subjects and 44.0% of CG subjects were malnourished and 7.7% of subject from TG and 28.0% from CG were classified as stunted. The majority of subjects from TG and CG were in the mild malnutrition category for mid upper arm muscle circumference (MUAMC)-for-age. The TG group showed significant increment in MUAMC (0.13 cm vs -0.09 cm) compared with CG at 8 weeks (p<0.001). There was a significant higher increase for appetite level (0.12±0.33) (p<0.05) and an increasing trend on energy and protein intake in the TG group (213±554 kcal; 3.64 ±26.8 g) than in the CG group. In conclusion, supplementation of fish oil has a positive effect on appetite level, caloric intake and MUAMC among children with leukaemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. zlina@medic.upm.edu.my
authors.forename: Zalina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Abu Zaid
authors.forename: Suzana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahar
authors.forename: A Rahman A
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Jamal
authors.forename: Noor Aini
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Mohd Yusof
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D001069:Appetite Regulation / Q000208:ethnology; D001132:Arm; D049628:Body Size; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000150:complications*; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology; D010352:Patient Dropouts
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D005395:Fish Oils