Dynapenia in paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease at a reference centre in Brazil

Abstract

Objective: to identify Dynapenia and evaluate possible associations with clinical and nutritional factors in paediatric patients with IBD. Methodology: this is a cross-sectional study in which data were collected on clinical diagnosis, drug therapy, disease activity, serum vitamin D levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, weight, height, arm circumference, arm muscle area, the sum of skinfolds and handgrip strength. Dynapenia was assessed by low relative handgrip strength. Measures of central tendency were evaluated using data from Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Results: Forty patients of both sexes participated in the study, with a mean age of 12.39 (standard deviation = 3.28) years. Dynapenia was identified in 35% of the participants, and there was no association between the variables evaluated. However, there was a greater tendency for Dynapenia in female patients (40%), under 10 years of age (37.5%), overweight (50%), low muscle reserve (39.1%), vitamin D deficiency (38.5%), Crohn's disease (41.2%) and those using corticosteroids (33.3%). Conclusion: the presence of Dynapenia among the participants of this study was high. This condition must be evaluated as a systematic routine of nutritional status, enabling early identification of Dynapenia and adequate guidance for prevention and treatment.