Nutritional, dietary and biochemical profile of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis

Purpose: To evaluate the nutritional, food and biochemical profile of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) treated at a reference center in southern Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study including patients with CF at a pediatric center in Florianopolis, from 2019 to 2020. Questionnaires with questions on sociodemographic, clinical, biochemical, 24 -hour dietary recall, and anthropometric measurements were applied. Participants were stratified into age groups, infants (under 2 years); preschoolers (2-5 years), schoolchildren (5-10 years), and adolescents (>= 10 years). Discussion: Periodic monitoring of nutritional status should be part of the routine of patients with CF, being essential to prevent the decline of the clinical picture. Results: Of the 102 patients included in the study, 52.9% were male, mostly white (87.3%), with a mean age of 6.11 +/- 4.63 years. Most patients (84.3%) were classified as eutrophic. When comparing the age groups, 81% of the infants had an excellent clinical score, the nutritional supplement was more used in the school group (90.9%); adolescents were diagnosed later (11.55 +/- 26.40 months), and 19.4% of them had CF-related diabetes. n infants, the serum albumin level had a lower mean and the serum phosphorus level showed a slight increase in relation to the reference value. Conclusion: In the present study, a decline in clinical score scores, the prevalence of CF-related diabetes, and higher food intake among adolescents were observed.