BEHAVIOR AT MEALTIMES AND THE YOUNG-CHILD WITH CYSTIC-FIBROSIS

Recent work has indicated that behavioral feeding disorders may contri bute to failure to thrive in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). This study compared the incidence of behavioral problems at mealtime, paren ting stress, and nutritional intake for a sample of 22 children with C F and a matched control group of children without chronic disease. Mul tivariate analysis indicated that parents of children with CF viewed t heir child's behavior as more problematic at mealtime and more general ly stressful than control group parents. Importantly, there was a sign ificant negative correlation between the number of behavioral problems cited by parents of children with CF and caloric intake. Our CF group did not include any child who had significant failure to thrive (<5th percentile for weight for length). Thus, it appears that behavioral i ssues may impact on dietary intake for a broader population of childre n with CF than those with significant failure to thrive.