Outcome and factors associated with undernutrition among children with congenital heart disease.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, especially among those with undernutrition. Evaluating risk factors associated with undernutrition is important to improve clinical outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the outcome and factors associated with undernutrition among children with CHD.

Material And Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among children with CHD at Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia during February 2016 to June 2018. Clinical and demographic data were collected at the time of diagnosis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent factors associated with undernutrition using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Significance was set as p<0.05.

Results: We recruited 1,149 children with CHD, of those, 563 (49%) were underweight, 549 (47.8%) were stunting, and 361 (31.4%) were wasting. In the multivariate analysis, cyanotic CHD, delayed diagnosis, congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, syndrome, young maternal age, history of low birth weight, and being first child were independently associated with undernutrition. Underweight and stunting were significantly associated with increased mortality with OR of 3.54 (95% CI: 1.62-7.74), p<0.001 and OR 3.31 (95% CI: 1.65-6.64), p<0.001, respectively.

Conclusions: About half of the children with CHD were categorized with undernutrition. An increased risk of undernutrition was associated with cyanotic CHD, delayed diagnosis, congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, syndrome, low birth weight, and being first child. Underweight and stunting were significantly associated with increased risk of death.