CDN Pediatric & Geriatric Nutrition 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A 6-month-old exclusively breastfed infant is at highest risk for deficiency of which nutrient?
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D (Correct answer)
- Calcium
- Folate
Correct answer: Vitamin D
Breast milk is low in vitamin D, so exclusively breastfed infants should receive 400 IU/day supplementation per AAP guidelines.
Question 2: Which anthropometric index is most appropriate for assessing nutritional status in children aged 2–18 years?
- Weight-for-height Z-score
- BMI-for-age percentile (Correct answer)
- Mid-upper arm circumference
- Waist-to-hip ratio
Correct answer: BMI-for-age percentile
BMI-for-age percentile accounts for normal growth patterns and is the standard screening tool for overweight and obesity in children 2–18 years.
Question 3: An 80-year-old with poor appetite and muscle wasting has low serum albumin (2.8 g/dL). Which condition best explains the low albumin in this context?
- Iron-deficiency anemia
- Protein-energy malnutrition (Correct answer)
- Zinc deficiency
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
Correct answer: Protein-energy malnutrition
Protein-energy malnutrition causes decreased hepatic synthesis of albumin, making it a marker of chronic nutritional depletion.
Question 4: What is the recommended daily iron intake for a 12-month-old toddler?
- 7 mg
- 10 mg
- 11 mg (Correct answer)
- 15 mg
Correct answer: 11 mg
The RDA for iron is 11 mg/day for children aged 7–12 months and remains at 7 mg/day for ages 1–3 years; however, for infants 7–12 months specifically the value is 11 mg.
Question 5: Which factor most commonly contributes to dehydration risk in older adults?
- Increased renal concentrating ability
- Decreased thirst sensation (Correct answer)
- Higher total body water percentage
- Increased aldosterone secretion
Correct answer: Decreased thirst sensation
Aging blunts the thirst mechanism, so older adults often do not recognize or respond to early dehydration signals.
Question 6: A premature infant at 28 weeks gestation requires nutritional support. Which feeding approach is preferred when enteral feeding is tolerated?
- Standard cow's milk formula
- Pasteurized donor human milk fortified with human milk fortifier (Correct answer)
- Soy-based formula
- Glucose-electrolyte solution
Correct answer: Pasteurized donor human milk fortified with human milk fortifier
Donor human milk with human milk fortifier is preferred for premature infants to reduce necrotizing enterocolitis risk while meeting higher protein and caloric needs.
Question 7: Which vitamin deficiency in an elderly patient is most likely to present with megaloblastic anemia AND neurological symptoms?
- Folate
- Vitamin B12 (Correct answer)
- Vitamin B6
- Thiamin
Correct answer: Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 deficiency causes both megaloblastic anemia and subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord; folate deficiency causes anemia but not the neurological component.
CDN Pediatric & Geriatric Nutrition 2
A 6-month-old exclusively breastfed infant is at highest risk for deficiency of which nutrient?