• Melika Melunović, Belma Krdžalić-Zečević, Mirela Lisičić-Konaković, Amela Kulašević, and Lejla Kurtalić.
• Paediatrics Department, Novo Sarajevo Health Centre, The Public Institution Health Centre of Sarajevo Canton, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Med Glas (Zenica). 2024 Sep 1; 21 (2): 328333328-333.

AimTo investigate the relationship between nutritional status (NS) and diet quality (DQ) with the frequency of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in children aged 5 to 7 years.MethodsData were obtained through questionnaires. Anthropometric measurement, correlations between body mass index (BMI) and DQ with frequency of ARIs were analysed.ResultsA total of 129 children with an average age of 72.2±4.2 months were examined. Malnourished children had a 3.4 times higher probability of ARIs (OR=3.449; p=0.025, 95% CI=0.109-29.049) and a 5.6 times higher probability of bronchopneumonia compared to those with normal weight (OR=5.643; p=0.049, 95% CI=0.874-36.434). There was a significant positive association between the consumption of meat and meat products with bronchitis (p=0.030; OR 9.921; 95% CI -1.252, +78.610) and a significant negative relationship between the consumption of cooked meals and ARIs in total (p=0.015; OR 0.046; 95% CI -0.004, +0.552). Unexpectedly, a significant positive association was found between the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and some respiratory infections, which needs to be verified with additional analyses.ConclusionDQ and NS are associated with the frequency of ARIs in preschool children. Additional analyses are needed with a larger number of participants in order to form more precise conclusions.Copyright© by the Medical Association of Zenica-Doboj Canton.

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