Dietary Pattern of Dengue Patients in District Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61919/y1fwg818Keywords:
Dengue; dietary patterns; nutritional status; body mass index; environmental factors; PakistanAbstract
Background: Dengue is an important public-health problem in Pakistan. Dietary intake may be disrupted during acute illness; however, the nutritional status and dietary practices of patients with dengue in District Mardan remain insufficiently described. Objective: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, nutritional status, dietary practices, and selected household environmental characteristics of patients with laboratory-confirmed dengue in District Mardan. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 75 patients selected through convenience sampling from DHQ Hospital Mardan, LMC, and Type-D Hospital Lundkhwar. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire collected sociodemographic, clinical, dietary, and household information. Height and weight were measured, and body mass index was calculated. Data were summarized using frequencies, percentages, and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Of the 75 participants, 42 (56.0%) were male and 30 (40.0%) were aged 17–29 years. Sixty-two (82.7%) were classified as being overweight or obesity. Fever occurred in all participants, while fatigue, headache, and myalgia were reported to be 84.0%, 80.0%, and 61.3%, respectively. Vegetable and juice consumption was reported by 76.0% and 70.7%, whereas 37.3% consumed vitamin-C-rich foods and 40.0% reported following a proper diet. Standing water around the residence was reported by 76.0%, and 66.7% required hospital admission. Conclusion: Patients commonly presented with constitutional symptoms, excess BMI classifications, variable dietary practices, and household standing water. These findings support more detailed local nutritional and environmental assessment but do not establish effects on dengue occurrence, severity, or recovery
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sawaira Shahid, Maisam Ali, Adnan Habib, Dr. Palwasha Javed, Dr. Saad Javed, Haider Ali, Muhammad Wasif Jamal, Husnul Maab, Ayesha Bibi, Humaira Jamal (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
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