The relationship between nutritional status and the incidence of ARI In toddlers aged 1-5 years

Background: Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) is a disease that causes the highest number of deaths (mortality) and morbidity (morbidity) in children under five in both developed and developing countries, including Indonesia. The prevalence of ARI cases in Indonesia increases every year, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, ARI pneumonia cases reached 386,724 (38.78%) in 2022 with 69.2% (267,733 cases) of them occurring in the 1-5 year age group.
Objective: This study aims to analyze the relationship between nutritional status and the incidence of ARI in toddlers aged 1-5 years in the working area of ​​the Mulyorejo Community Health Center, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Method: This research uses an analytical observational study with a cross sectional approach. The samples in this research were toddlers who visited the Mulyorejo Community Health Center, Surabaya for the period November 2023-April 2024. The sampling technique used non-probability sampling, namely the purposive sampling method. The sample size was 100 toddlers. The research instrument is medical records. Research data was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U Test.
Result: Most (76%) respondents had normal nutritional status. The results of the Mann-Whitney U test to analyze the relationship between the nutritional status of toddlers and the incidence of ARI in toddlers obtained P Value = 0.492.
Conclusion: These data show that there is no relationship between nutritional status and the incidence of  ARI in toddlers aged 1-5 years in the working area of ​​the Mulyorejo Community Health Center, Surabaya, Indonesia.