title: Nutritional status of children with inflammatory bowel disease in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of nutritional disorders in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Saudi Arabia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data from a national cohort of children newly diagnosed with IBD between 2003 and 2012 were analyzed. The diagnosis of IBD and the differentiation between Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were confirmed by gastroenterologists according to the standard criteria. The body mass index (BMI) of each child [weight (kg)/height(2) (m)] was calculated at the time of diagnosis. The World Health Organization standards and references were used and the BMI for age > +1 and < -2 standard deviation score were used to define overweight and thinness, respectively. Age stratification analysis was performed to investigate any age-related variation in the prevalence of nutritional status between children < 10 years of age and older.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 374 children from 0.33 to 17 years of age, including 119 (32%) children with UC and 255 (68%) with CD. All of the children were Saudi nationals, and 68 (57%) of the UC and 150 (59%) of the CD children were males. A positive history of anorexia at the time of diagnosis was found in 30 (25%) patients with UC and 99 (39%) patients with CD. The prevalence of thinness was 31%, 35% and 24% in children with IBD, CD and UC, respectively, with a significantly higher prevalence of thinness in children with CD than in children with UC (P = 0.037) only in the age group of 10-17 years (P = 0.030). The prevalence of overweight was 16 %, 15% and 20 % in the children with IBD, CD and UC, respectively, indicating a higher prevalence in UC that was statistically significant only in the age group of 10-17 years (P = 0.020).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high proportion of children with IBD presented with overweight instead of the classical underweight. Awareness of this finding is important for patient care.
authors: Mohammad Issa El Mouzan, Department of Pediatrics, Head, Pediatric IBD Research Group, Member of Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Mohammad Issa
authors: MI
authors: El Mouzan
authors: Mohammad Issa El Mouzan, Department of Pediatrics, Head, Pediatric IBD Research Group, Member of Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Mohammed Hadi
authors: MH
authors: Al Edreesi
authors: Mohammad Issa El Mouzan, Department of Pediatrics, Head, Pediatric IBD Research Group, Member of Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Abdulrahman Abdullah
authors: AA
authors: Al-Hussaini
authors: Mohammad Issa El Mouzan, Department of Pediatrics, Head, Pediatric IBD Research Group, Member of Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Omar Ibrahim
authors: OI
authors: Saadah
authors: Mohammad Issa El Mouzan, Department of Pediatrics, Head, Pediatric IBD Research Group, Member of Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Abdulaziz Abdullatif
authors: AA
authors: Al Qourain
authors: Mohammad Issa El Mouzan, Department of Pediatrics, Head, Pediatric IBD Research Group, Member of Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Mohammad Abdullah
authors: MA
authors: Al Mofarreh
authors: Mohammad Issa El Mouzan, Department of Pediatrics, Head, Pediatric IBD Research Group, Member of Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Khalid Abdulrahman
authors: KA
authors: Al Saleem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013851:Thinness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Children; Crohn disease; Overweight; Saudi Arabia; Thinness; Ulcerative colitis