Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health Problem
Infectious disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, particularly in children. Increasing evidence suggests that protein-calorie malnutrition is the underlying reason for the increased susceptibility to infections observed in these areas. Moreover, certain infect...
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doaj-0dc871364e134672ab96737953fac0b92020-11-25T01:45:47ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012011-04-01841174120510.3390/ijerph8041174Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health ProblemRocío OrtizLeonor RodríguezElsa CervantesInfectious disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, particularly in children. Increasing evidence suggests that protein-calorie malnutrition is the underlying reason for the increased susceptibility to infections observed in these areas. Moreover, certain infectious diseases also cause malnutrition, which can result in a vicious cycle. Malnutrition and bacterial gastrointestinal and respiratory infections represent a serious public health problem. The increased incidence and severity of infections in malnourished children is largely due to the deterioration of immune function; limited production and/or diminished functional capacity of all cellular components of the immune system have been reported in malnutrition. In this review, we analyze the cyclical relationship between malnutrition, immune response dysfunction, increased susceptibility to infectious disease, and metabolic responses that further alter nutritional status. The consequences of malnutrition are diverse and included: increased susceptibility to infection, impaired child development, increased mortality rate and individuals who come to function in suboptimal ways. http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/8/4/1174/gastrointestinal infectionsmalnutritionrespiratory infectionsmalnourished childrenimmune response dysfunction |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Rocío Ortiz Leonor Rodríguez Elsa Cervantes |
spellingShingle |
Rocío Ortiz Leonor Rodríguez Elsa Cervantes Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health Problem International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health gastrointestinal infections malnutrition respiratory infections malnourished children immune response dysfunction |
author_facet |
Rocío Ortiz Leonor Rodríguez Elsa Cervantes |
author_sort |
Rocío Ortiz |
title |
Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health Problem |
title_short |
Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health Problem |
title_full |
Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health Problem |
title_fullStr |
Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health Problem |
title_full_unstemmed |
Malnutrition and Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Infections in Children: A Public Health Problem |
title_sort |
malnutrition and gastrointestinal and respiratory infections in children: a public health problem |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2011-04-01 |
description |
Infectious disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, particularly in children. Increasing evidence suggests that protein-calorie malnutrition is the underlying reason for the increased susceptibility to infections observed in these areas. Moreover, certain infectious diseases also cause malnutrition, which can result in a vicious cycle. Malnutrition and bacterial gastrointestinal and respiratory infections represent a serious public health problem. The increased incidence and severity of infections in malnourished children is largely due to the deterioration of immune function; limited production and/or diminished functional capacity of all cellular components of the immune system have been reported in malnutrition. In this review, we analyze the cyclical relationship between malnutrition, immune response dysfunction, increased susceptibility to infectious disease, and metabolic responses that further alter nutritional status. The consequences of malnutrition are diverse and included: increased susceptibility to infection, impaired child development, increased mortality rate and individuals who come to function in suboptimal ways. |
topic |
gastrointestinal infections malnutrition respiratory infections malnourished children immune response dysfunction |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/8/4/1174/ |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT rocioortiz malnutritionandgastrointestinalandrespiratoryinfectionsinchildrenapublichealthproblem AT leonorrodriguez malnutritionandgastrointestinalandrespiratoryinfectionsinchildrenapublichealthproblem AT elsacervantes malnutritionandgastrointestinalandrespiratoryinfectionsinchildrenapublichealthproblem |
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