ArticleBMC pediatrics2021
Thymus size and its correlates among children admitted with severe acute malnutrition: a cross-sectional study in Uganda.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors Involved in Thymic Atrophy in Severely Malnourished Children: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.Scandinavian journal of immunology · 2025Pooled it
- Organ weights determined during autopsies of infants aged 0-1 year: a comparative study of Turkish and Syrian infants.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2026Article
- Early Deficient Lactation Differentially Affects Neonatal Thymic Cortical Development and Humoral Immune Responses in Rats.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Adaptive Responses in Severe Acute Malnutrition: Endocrinology, Metabolomics, Mortality, and Growth.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Hepatic steatosis in complicated kwashiorkor-an ultrasound case report.Oxford medical case reports · 2025Article
- Human milk feeding practices and serum immune profiles of one-year-old infants in the CHILD birth cohort study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Observational
- Early-life undernutrition, immune dysregulation, and cancer incidence in later life: a national life-course analysis from the China health and retirement longitudinal study.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Malnutrition and Allergies: Tipping the Immune Balance towards Health.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Thymus assessments at birth in echocardiography: a preliminary cohort study.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- The nexus between household water insecurity, mother's handwashing practices, and diarrheal diseases among under-five children.Journal of water and health · 2024Article
- Article
- The nexus between household water insecurity, mother's handwashing practices, and diarrheal diseases among under-five children.Journal of water and health · 2024Article
- The nexus between household water insecurity, mother's handwashing practices, and diarrheal diseases among under-five children.Journal of water and health · 2024Article
- The thymus road to a T cell: migration, selection, and atrophy.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Infection in the Developing Brain: The Role of Unique Systemic Immune Vulnerabilities.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMalnutrition continues to be a major cause of mortality and morbidity among children in resource limited settings. Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) experience severe thymus atrophy, possibly reflecting poor immune function. This immune dysfunction is responsible for the severe infections they experience which lead to mortality. Since their immune dysfunction is not fully understood and there has been a lapse in research in this field, more research is needed. Knowing the correlates of thymus size may help clinicians identify those with more severe atrophy who might have more severe immune impairment. We aimed to describe thymus size and its correlates at admission among children hospitalized with SAM.
methodsThis cross-sectional study involved children 6-59 months admitted with complicated SAM in Mulago National Referral Hospital. Well-nourished children from same communities were used as a community reference group for thymus size. At admission, thymus size was measured by ultrasound scan. Demographic, clinical and laboratory variables were identified at admission. A linear regression model was used to determine correlates of thymus size among children with SAM.
resultsAmong 388 children with SAM, the mean age was 17±8.5 months and 58% were boys. The mean thymus size was 3.14 (95% CI 2.9; 3.4) cm
conclusionThe thymus is indeed a barometer for nutrition since all anthropometric measurements and breastfeeding were associated with bigger thymus. The immune benefits of breastfeeding among children with SAM is underscored. Children with longer duration of illness had a smaller thymus gland indicating that infections have a role in the cause or consequence of thymus atrophy.
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