OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the nutritional status and clinical, laboratory, and behavioral factors associated with overweight among children and adolescents survivors of acute lymphocytic leukemia treated at a reference center in Northeastern Brazil. METHODS: A case-series study was carried out with 30 survivors of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Clinical, behavioral and laboratory data were collected between March and September 2011. The anthropometric variables height-for-age and body mass index-for-age were determined on three different occasions (time of diagnosis, end of treatment, and post-treatment period), using the reference standards of the World Health Organization. RESULTS: The mean age and standard deviation of the sample was 10.2±3.2 years. A total of 33.3% of the survivors were overweight at the beginning and end of treatment. In the post-treatment period, a significant increase was found in the body mass index-for-age Z-score. The frequency of excess weight was 43.3%. The frequency of abdominal obesity was 16.6% and 35.5% based on the waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio, respectively. The comparison of body mass index-for-age Z-scores before and after treatment revealed significantly stunted linear growth. The laboratory tests showed that total cholesterol was 52.1% above the upper limit. However, 58.3%, 66.7%, and 79.2% of the sample had high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, respectively, within the recommended ranges. CONCLUSION: Based on the frequency of excess weight, abdominal obesity, and high total cholesterol, the study survivors of acute lymphocytic leukemia were at greater risk of developing chronic, non-communicable diseases.
Adolescent; Child; Lymphocytic leukemia; Obesity; Overweight; Survivor
