The effect of additional nutritional support as part of the rehabilitation program on the quality of life and morbidity in children with recurrent respiratory pathology

Objective of the study: Assess the health and quality of life in children with recurrent respiratory pathology and justify the effectiveness of comprehensive rehabilitation program to improve health involving additional nutritional support.

Materials and methods: 101 children aged 5–9 years with recurrent respiratory pathology received a non-comparative clinical examination and rehabilitation. The first group included 75 children with disorders of nutritional status that were identified upon results of physical examination, anthropometric measurements, including body composition analysis (bioimpedance measurement), biochemical parameters and actual nutrition evaluation. The observed children of the main group received «PediaSure with fiber» functional product as part of the complex rehabilitation therapy to replenish the diet with the basic nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. The second group of 26 children comparable in age and gender, but not having disorders of nutritional status was allocated in order to assess the impact of the nutritional deficiency on the severity of recurrent respiratory disease. Those children received only general health therapy and usual sanatorium traditional food. The effectiveness of the therapy was assessed on the basis of the positive dynamics of the nutritional status and the quality of life study using the questionnaire Pediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire (Generic Core Scales). The study was conducted in Duslyk children’s sanatorium in Ufa.

Results: The comprehensive health improvement program and additional nutritional support in children with recurrent respiratory pathology showed a significant improvement in anthropometric data, a 2.5-fold decrease in the average number (from 7.12 to 2.9, p <0.05), and 1.8 -fold decrease in the average duration (from 11.88 to 6.76 days, p <0.05) of episodes of recurrent respiratory infections, and also allowed to achieve significant improvement in all parameters of the children’s quality of life.

Conclusion: The comprehensive health improvement program and additional nutritional support in children with recurrent respiratory pathology contribute to improving the quality of life, increasing adaptive capacity, reducing the frequency and duration of acute respiratory infections.

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