Prevalence of Malnutrition in Children With Congenital Ichthyoses in a Tertiary Care Centre in India.

Malnutrition has been reported in congenital ichthyoses in several studies, but its prevalence in Indian children with congenital ichthyoses (CI) as compared to unaffected children is unknown. The objective was to assess the prevalence of malnutrition in 32 children with CI and matched healthy controls and to study the correlation between clinical severity of ichthyosis using visual ichthyosis index severity (VIIS) score with malnutrition, biochemical parameters (hemoglobin, vitamin D, protein and albumin). Malnutrition was detected in 46.8% (15/32) [wasting 40.6%; stunting 37.5%] of children with CI and 18.8% (6/32) (wasting 15.6%; stunting 12.5%) of controls (p value < 0.001) and there was positive correlation between the severity of ichthyosis and malnutrition (p value < 0.001). Children with ichthyosis are at increased risk of malnutrition, and early identification and treatment of malnutrition could improve the severity of ichthyosis and growth potential.