Nutritional evaluation of children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities

Objective: The present study evaluated the nutrition of 10 children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities who were hospitalized or had multiple hospitalizations and discharges over a period of more than 1 year. Methods: The authors compared the height, weight, presence of trace elements, daily caloric intake, and the rate of change in the blood analysis parameters for the nutritional evaluation among 6 patients whose weights increased (increased group) and 4 patients whose weights decreased or showed no change (non-increased group) and investigated the nutritional characteristics of these children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities. Results: The patients' heights and weights at the start of the observation period were lower than the ideal values (P < 0.01) because the prevention of obesity is crucial for maintaining the quality of life of children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities. Moreover, the rates of change in the daily energy showed no significant differences between the increased and non-increased groups. The rates of change in the total protein and albumin levels in the non-increased group were significantly lower than those in the increased group (P < 0.05). The levels of 5 parameters (prealbumin, total cholesterol, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and iron) were lower than normal. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the rates of change in the total protein and albumin levels are useful for nutritional evaluation in children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities. The estimated caloric intake has to be carefully determined.