Anemia in the Metal and Physical Handicapped

Min, Jeong Sik; Ahn, Chan Il

Abstract

Nutrition is thought to be much more important to the handicapped for their growth and development and successful management of their disease because they have much more complexed problems in physical, emotional, familial, and socioeconomic aspects. The authors determined number of erythrocytes and leukocytes, quantity of hemoglobin, hematocrit, reticulocyte, number of platelets for the survey of anemia to evaluate the nutritional status in mental and physical handicapped. Mean Corpuscular volume, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin and Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration were calculated as usual according to wintrobe. Total iron binding capacity and serum iron were also measured in the hadicapped. The study group consists of total III handicapped children, who were composed of 13 first visitors to Out Patient Department, 51 hopsitalized patients in Rehabilitation Hospital, and 47 patients attending a Special Elementary School for the handicapped. Of the III subjects, 58 had cerebral plasies, 49 poliomyelitises and 4 had other orthopedic problems. Results. 1. Anemia were seen in 14 subjects, composed of 4 first visitors to O.P.D.(28.6% of all the anemias, 30.8% of all the O.P.C. subjects), 7 hospitalized subjects(50% of all the anemias, 13.7% of all the hospitalized subjects) and 3 Special School subjects(21.4% of all the anemias, 6.4% of Special School subjects). Incidence of anemia was higher in O.P.D. subjects than in the subjects of other groups. 2. Incidence of anemia by the disease entities was higher in the indivisuals with cerebral palsy, 7 in number(50% of all the anemias, 11.1% of all the cerebral palsy subjects) than in 5 those with poliomyelitis (35.7% of all the anemias, 10.2% of all the poliomyelitis subjects), or in 2 other subjects. 3. Incidence of anemia by the age was higher in the subjects below 6 years of age whose number was 5(35.7% of all the anemias, 45.5% of all the subjects below 6 years of age) than in the subjects above 9 years of age whose number was 9(64.3% of all the anemias, 11.1% of all the subjects above 9 years of age). The incidence of anemia in the subjects above 12 years of age was 17.7%(seven of the nine anemias above 9 years of age). 4. Five of the seven cerebral palsy patients with anemia were below 6 yeas of age(45.5% of all the cerebral palsy subjects below 6 years of age). All of the five poliomyelitis patients with anemia were above 9 years of age(11.1% of all the poliomyelitis subjects above 9 years of age). 5. Iron deficiency anemia was noted in 6 of 14 anemia patients(43% of all the anemias), which were composed of 2 cerebral palsy patients below 6 years of age, 3 poliomyelitises and one patients with congenital hip dislocation above 9 years of age.