The Nutritional Status of Individuals Adopted Internationally as Children: A Systematic Review

Since 1955, international adoption has been a way of finding homes for children who have been orphaned or abandoned. We aimed to describe the nutritional status of individuals adopted internationally and their long-term nutritional and health outcomes. We searched four databases for articles publish...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2021-01, Vol.13 (1), p.245
Main Authors: Ivey, Richard, Kerac, Marko, Quiring, Michael, Dam, Thi Thuy Hang, Doig, Susie, DeLacey, Emily
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Body mass
Body mass index
Body size
Children
Chronic illnesses
Disability
Families & family life
growth
Health aspects
Intercountry adoption
international adoption
Malnutrition
Nutrition
Nutritional status
Orphans
Parents & parenting
Quality standards
Review
Systematic review
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Summary:Since 1955, international adoption has been a way of finding homes for children who have been orphaned or abandoned. We aimed to describe the nutritional status of individuals adopted internationally and their long-term nutritional and health outcomes. We searched four databases for articles published from January 1995 to June 2020, which included information on anthropometric or micronutrient status of children adopted internationally (CAI). Mean Z-scores on arrival to adoptive country ranged from -2.04 to -0.31 for weight for age; -0.94 to 0.39 for weight for height; -0.7 to 0 for body mass index; -1.89 to -0.03 for height for age; -1.43 to 0.80 for head circumference for age. Older children, those adopted from institutionalized care or with underlying disability, were more likely to be malnourished. Though long-term data was scarce, mean Z-scores post-adoption ranged from -0.59 to 0.53 for weight for age; -0.31 to 1.04 for weight for height; 0.39 to 1.04 for body mass index; -1.09 to 0.58 for height for age; -0.06 to 1.23 for head circumference for age. We conclude that though CAI are at high risk of malnutrition at baseline, marked catch-up growth is possible, including for those older than two years of age on arrival. This has implications not only for CAI but for the wider population of malnourished children worldwide. Research on how to optimize catch-up growth is a priority.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu13010245