Epidemiology of the Kwashiorkor Disorder

If you want to say the word "Kwashiorkor", most people in the world will respond by giving you confused expressions, low response, you will not know what you are saying. In the Ga language, it is actually called "a person physically displaced." When thinking about Santa Claus or Old Sentonick, what kind of image do you consider? For most people, this is a happy old man with a rounded belly that is large, dominant and expanding. Well, the imaginary image adds the same physical characteristics (round belly) to the small child. It is called kwashiorkol disease.

Kwashiorkor, also known as edema malnutrition, is associated with edema (fluid retention) and is the most common malnutrition disorder in the area experiencing famine. It is a kind of malnutrition caused by the lack of dietary protein. People with Kwashirocol usually have a very thin appearance with expansion of the fluid in all body parts except the ankle, foot and abdomen. Most people affected by kwashiorkor will recover completely if you receive treatment early. Treatment involves the introduction of additional calories and protein into the diet. Children who developed kwashiorkor may not grow or develop normally, and may remain stunned for the rest of their lives. Delayed treatment can cause serious complications including coma, shock, and permanent mental and physical disability. If you do not treat it, Kwashiorkor may be life-threatening. It may cause organ dysfunction, eventually resulting in death.

Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) refers to a group of related diseases including marasmus, kwashiorkor, marasmus-kwashiorkor (2). Marasmus is involved in insufficient protein and calorie intake, characterized by waste of weight and weight loss (2). Kwashiorkor means insufficient protein intake characterized by edema and reasonable calorie (energy) (2). Therefore, the main clinical difference between marasmus and kwashiorkor is exhaustion seen in marasmus, but it is not seen in kwashiorkor, but it can be seen in kwashiorkor but edema not seen in marasmus. In addition, in the intermediate state of marasmus-kwashiorkor, there are both weight loss and edema. Studies have shown that kwashiorkor represents an adaptive response to starvation, whereas marasmus represents an adaptive response to starvation (2). Children are usually mixed with marasmus and kwashiorkor pictures, so the word protein - energy malnutrition is generally used for child malnutrition (2).