The Relationship between Nutritional Status and Degree of Pneumonia in Toddlers at Universitas Kristen Indonesia General Hospital

Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection that majorly causes the death of children in the world, especially in developing countries. Malnourished is a risk factor for pneumonia in children under five years. This study aims to determine the association between nutritional status and pneumonia severity in children under five years in the Universitas Kristen Indonesia General Hospital. The design of this study was an analytical cross-sectional. The data was collected from December 2016 – to January 2017 in central to the medical record of UKI General Hospital. The subject was all infants hospitalized with pneumonia from 2013 to 2015. The indicator used for nutritional status was based on weight for height according to WHO 2007 chart. Pneumonia was found most in 13 – 24 months (36,6%). Thirteen of 82 children with normal nutritional status and 24/82 children with undernutrition had severe pneumonia (p = 0,025). Undernutrition status was significantly associated with the severity of pneumonia. Keywords: nutritional status, the severity of pneumonia, children under five years