Correlates of thymus size and changes during treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition: a cohort study

BMC Pediatrics

Table 2 Linear regression identifying factors associated with thymus area^a on admission among 85 children admitted with severe acute malnutrition. Invisible thymuses and values <1 cm² censored as “below detection limit”^b

	n^c	10^β (95% confidence interval)	p
Female sex	85	1.18 (0.90; 1.54)	0.22
Age, months	85	0.99 (0.98; 1.01)	0.51
Edema present	85	1.22 (0.93; 1.58)	0.15
Still breastfeeding	80	1.09 (0.93; 1.58)	0.64
Anthropometric data
Mid-upper arm circumference, cm	84	1.10 (1.01;1.19)	0.02
Weight-for-length, z-score^d	85	1.11 (1.01; 1.21)	0.03
Weight-for-age, z-score^d	85	1.13 (1.02; 1.25)	0.02
Length-for-age, z-score	85	1.07 (0.97; 1.19)	0.18
Clinical data, admission
HIV positive	77	0.73 (0.53; 1.01)	0.06
Symptoms reported by caretaker
Diarrhea	81	0.94 (0.71;1.22)	0.62
Vomit	81	0.86 (0.65; 1.13)	0.27
Cough	81	0.86 (0.66; 1.12)	0.27
Fever	81	0.97 (0.73; 1.29)	0.83
How sick according to caretaker^e	80	0.89 (0.83; 0.95)	0.001
Physical examination on admission
Pulse, beats/minute	81	1.00 (0.99; 1.00)	0.10
Respiratory rate, breaths/minute	80	1.00 (0.99; 1.00)	0.59
Capillary refill time, seconds	82	0.97 (0.84; 1.12)	0.68
Temperature >37.5°	83	0.80 (0.60; 1.08)	0.14
Oral thrush present	71	0.88 (0.98; 1.69)	0.43
Able to complete first feed	73	1.19 (0.86; 1.66)	0.29
Blood chemistry on admission^f
Hemoglobin, g/dL	80	1.08 (1.02; 1.14)	0.01
C-reactive protein > 5 mg/L	65	0.61 (0.41; 0.89)	0.01
α₁-acid glycoprotein, g/L	65	0.73 (0.60; 0.90)	0.003
Sodium, mmol/L	81	0.99 (0.96; 1.02)	0.49
Potassium, mmol/L	81	1.01 (0.85; 1.21)	0.89
Inorganic phosphate, mmol/L
Admission	81	1.50 (0.99; 2.27)	0.05
Day two	72	1.66 (1.24; 2.20)	0.001

^aThymus size is log₁₀ of thymus area
^bData are back-transformed regression coefficients, adjusted for age and sex. Interpretation of e.g. 10 ^β = 1.08 is that by each unit increase in exposure variable, thymus area increases by 8%; Associations are considered significant when p < 0.05
^cNumber of children with factors recorded
^dUsing lowest weight recorded during admission, to account for loss of oedema
^eEvaluated on a visual analogue scale from 1 to 10
^fAll values except hemoglobin measured in plasma

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