Seasonal Prevalence of Protein-energy- malnutrition (PEM)

Abstract

A retrospective study was carried out on the prevalence of protein-energy-malnu- trition (PEM) among children attending Adeoyo Maternity and Children's hospi- tal, Ibadan, over a period of 27 months. A significant number of all the patients attended the out-patient (OP) clinic per month during the wet season than during the dry season (P<0.05). Similarly, a higher number of patients with PEM attended the OP per month during the wet season than during the dry season (P<0.001). There was no difference (P>0.05) between the number of in-patients during the wet and dry seasons. There was however, a significant difference (P<0.0001) be- tween the average number of in-patients with PEM during the rainy season than the average number with PEM admitted during the dry season. Scarcity and high prices of staple food items that occur during the wet season before the onset of harvest are among important contributory factors to the seasonal variation in the prevalence of PEM.