title: Effects of Malnutrition on Left Ventricular Mass in a North-Malagasy Children Population.
abstract: Malnutrition among children population of less developed countries is a major health problem. Inadequate food intake and infectious diseases are combined to increase further the prevalence. Malnourishment brings to muscle cells loss with development of cardiac complications, like arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy and sudden death. In developed countries, malnutrition has generally a different etiology, like chronic diseases. The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation between malnutrition and left ventricular mass in an African children population.
  
  
  
  313 children were studied, in the region of Antsiranana, Madagascar, with age ranging from 4 to 16 years old (mean 7,8 ± 3 years). A clinical and echocardiographic evaluation was performed with annotation of anthropometric and left ventricle parameters. Malnutrition was defined as a body mass index (BMI) value age- and sex-specific of 16, 17 and 18,5 at the age of 18, or under the 15th percentile. Left ventricle mass was indexed by height2.7 (LVMI).
  
  
  
  We identified a very high prevalence of children malnutrition: 124 children, according to BMI values, and 100 children under the 15th percentile. LVMI values have shown to be increased in proportion to BMI percentiles ranging from 29,8 ± 10,8 g/m2.7 in the malnutrition group to 45 ± 15,1 g/m2.7 in >95th percentile group. LVMI values in children < 15th BMI percentile were significantly lower compared to normal nutritional status (29,8 ± 10,8 g/m2,7 vs. 32,9 ± 12,1 g/m2,7, p = 0.02). Also with BMI values evaluation, malnourished children showed statistically lower values of LVMI (29,3 ± 10,1 g/m2,7 vs. 33,6 ± 12,5 g/m2,7, p = 0.001).
  
  
  
  In African children population, the malnourishment status is correlated with cardiac muscle mass decrease, which appears to be reduced in proportion to the decrease in body size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Cardiology Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Gioia
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Cardiology Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Creta
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Starship Greenlane Paediatric and Congenital Heart Service, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fittipaldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Cardiology Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giorgino
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Pediatrics Service, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quintarelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Cardiology Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Satriano
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Cardiology Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cruciani
authors.affiliation: Department of Heart and Great Vessels "Attilio Reale", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Antinolfi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Geriatric Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Berardino
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Cardiology Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Costanzo
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Ranieri
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bettini
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Geriatric Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mangiameli
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Geriatric Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caricato
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Surgery, Institute of Philosophy of Scientific and Technological Practice (FAST), Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mottini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008270:Madagascar / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size