High prevalence of overweight and obesity among 6-year-old children in Finnmark County, North Norway

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Kokkvoll, A., Jeppesen, E., Juliusson, P. B., Flægstad, T. and Njølstad, I. (2012), High prevalence of overweight and obesity among 6-year-old children in Finnmark County, North Norway. Acta Paediatrica, 101: 924–928, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2012.02735.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archivingAim:  The aim was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among 6-year-old children in Finnmark, the northernmost county of Norway. Methods:  This is a survey of 1774 children born during 1999 and 2000 from 18 of 19 child healthcare centres in Finnmark. Body mass index data extracted retrospectively in 2007 from health records at the age of 6 years were compared with international definitions of over- and underweight. The prevalence figures were further compared with socio-demographic figures on municipality level. Results:  Overall, 19% of the children were classified as overweight or obese; 5% were classified as obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher among girls (22%) than among boys (16%) (p < 0.01). The prevalence of underweight was 8% among both girls and boys. Despite large variations in the prevalence of overweight and obesity between municipalities (9–35%), no association was found with municipality figures on socio-demographic factors. Conclusion:  In the northernmost county Finnmark, the prevalence of overweight including obesity among 6-year-old children was somewhat higher than in previous surveys from Norway, especially among girls.acceptedVersio

Fødselsstatistikken 2019

Source at https://www.fhi.no/.Hoveddelen av dataene fra Medisinsk fødselsregister (MFR) for 2019 ble publisert i juni i år. Data om mors helse før og under svangerskapet samt data fra nyfødtavdelingene er publisert nå i desember og er tilgjengelig i vår statistikkbank. MFR har i år pga. den pågående pandemien også hatt en ekstrapublisering med et utvalg av variabler for 2020 data. Sjekk våre nettsider for mer informasjon om dette

Overweight and obesity in Norwegian children. Trends, current prevalence, effect of socio-demographic factors and parental perception

Background: The prevalence of paediatric overweight and obesity has shown a rapid increase in most parts of the world during the last decades. Estimates of prevalence of overweight and obesity in Norwegian children have been limited, and few studies have explored possible socio-demographic risk factors. The ability of parents to recognize weight deviations in their children is important for the management of emerging weight problems in children. Objectives: To provide new data on weight-for-height and skinfolds in Norwegian children, and compare these to growth references collected in 1971-4. Also, to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity by comparisons with the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standard and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria for overweight and obesity, and to identify socio-demographic risk factors. Finally, to compare parental perception of their children’s weight status to objective criteria of overweight and underweight based on anthropometric measures (BMI, waist circumference and triceps skinfold thickness). Materials and methods: A total of 8299 children aged 0-21 years from a stratified randomized selection of well-baby centres, kindergartens and schools in the city of Bergen, were included into the Bergen Growth Study during 2003-6. In 2006-7, a parental questionnaire including data on socio-demographic factors and parental perception were sent to 7472 participants and answers obtained for 4905 children. Results: The first paper demonstrated an increase in the weight-for-height, triceps and subscapularis skinfolds between 1971-4 and 2003-6 in 4115 Norwegian children aged 4-15 years. The upward percentile shift was largest in the highest percentiles and more prominent for skinfolds than for weight-for-height. Overall, 18.0% of the boys and 20.1% of the girls were above the 90th weight-for-height percentile of the 1971-4 references. Corresponding values for the triceps skinfolds were 30.0% and 28.0%, and for subscapularis skinfolds 26.5% and 25.9%. In the second paper, the growth of 2231 Norwegian and 4754 Belgian children aged 0- 5 years was compared with the WHO growth standard. In general, the number of Norwegian and Belgian children below – 2 SD of the WHO standards was lower, and the number above + 2 SD higher than was to be expected if there were no differences between the populations. For BMI, the overall percentage below – 2 SD was 0.54% (expected 2.3%) and 4.29% above the + 2 SD (expected 2.3%). This was true for all Norwegian children, also those who were exclusively breastfed. The results were similar for the Belgian children. The third paper reported the prevalence of overweight and obesity as defined by the IOTF in 6386 healthy Norwegian children aged 2-19 years. Overall 13.8% were assigned as overweight and 2.3% as obese. The prevalence was highest in the primaryschool aged children (17.0%) as compared to pre-school children (12.7%) and adolescents (11.7%). Significantly more girls than boys were overweight in the preschool age group (15.8% in girls vs. 9.6% in boys, p<0.001), whereas the opposite was true for adolescents (12.9% in boys vs. 10.2% in girls, p=0.026). Furthermore, this paper described the effect of socio-demographic risk factors on the prevalence of overweight and obesity as explored in a subsample of 3793 children. The risk of being overweight or obese increased in children with fewer siblings (p=0.003) and with lower parental educational level (p=0.001). No association was found with parental employment status, single-parent families or ethnic origin. The fourth paper showed that 71.2% of overweight and obese children and 40.8% of underweight children, using the IOTF definition for overweight and a similar criterion for underweight, were recognised by their parents as being of normal weight. Above 90% of overweight pre-school children were assigned as normal weight. For a given value of BMI, primary-school age children, adolescents and girls had an increased risk of being assigned as overweight, whereas adolescents and girls had a lower risk of being assigned as underweight. Overweight parents more often assigned their children as underweight, but there was no effect of parental educational level or parental underweight. Conclusions: There has been a significant increase in weight-for-height in Norwegian children during the last 30 years, and the increase in skinfolds indicate that increase in fat tissue is responsible for these changes. The current prevalence of overweight and obesity is comparable with data from other North- and Western-European countries, but lower than seen in Southern-Europe, the UK and the US. Socio-demographic factors have marked effects on the current prevalence of overweight and obesity. It is of great concern that in light of the increased prevalence of childhood overweight, parental ability to recognize weight deviations in their offspring is generally poor

Kawasaki disease in Iceland 1979-1997

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenKawasaki disease is a multisystem inflammatory disease most commonly affecting young children. The first patient documented with the disease in Iceland was diagnosed in 1979. In this retrospective study we describe our experience with the disease in Iceland over 19 years. From 1979 to 1997 40 children were diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, i.e. an annual incidence of 8.5 per 100,000 children younger than five years of age. Male-female ratio was 2:1. The number of patients each year varied from none to seven. Coronary aneurisms were revealed in four of 30 patients (13%) undergoing 2D echocardiography. One patient died (2.5%) of cardiac complication (heart failure). Twenty-seven of 30 patients diagnosed after 1987 were treated with intravenous immunoglobulins. The incidence of Kawasaki disease in Iceland is comparable to what has been reported in the other Nordic countries.Kawasaki sjúkdómur er bólgusjúkdómur sem einkennist aðallega af hita, húðútbrotum, tárubólgu og bólgubreytingum í munnslímhúð, en getur haft í för með sér fylgikvilla í hjarta- og æðakerfi. Gúlamyndun í kransæðum sést hjá 15-20% ómeðhöndlaðra sjúklinga. Tilgangur þessarar afturskyggnu rannsóknar var að kanna nýgengi Kawasaki sjúkdóms hérlendis, tíðni hjartakvilla og annarra fylgikvilla. Fyrsti sjúklingurinn greindist á íslandi 1979. Til og með 1997 höfðu 40 börn greinst með sjúkdóminn hér á landi. Meðalnýgengi var 8,5/100.000 á ári hjá börnum undir fimm ára aldri. Kynjahlutfall (drengir/stúlkur) var 2:1. Fjöldi tilfella var breytilegur frá ári til árs, frá engu til sjö barna á ári. Hjartabilun greindist hjá þremur börnum og kransæðagúlar hjá fjórum. Einn sjúklingur lést úr hjartabilun tengdri Kawasaki sjúkdómi. Öll börn greind eftir 1987, að þremur undanskildum, voru meðhöndluð með mótefnum í æð. Nýgengi sjúkdómsins innan fimm ára aldurs er sambærilegt við niðurstöður rannsókna frá hinum Norðurlöndunum

High prevalence of overweight and obesity among 6-year-old children in Finnmark County, North Norway

Aim:  The aim was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among 6-year-old children in Finnmark, the northernmost county of Norway. Methods:  This is a survey of 1774 children born during 1999 and 2000 from 18 of 19 child healthcare centres in Finnmark. Body mass index data extracted retrospectively in 2007 from health records at the age of 6 years were compared with international definitions of over- and underweight. The prevalence figures were further compared with socio-demographic figures on municipality level. Results:  Overall, 19% of the children were classified as overweight or obese; 5% were classified as obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher among girls (22%) than among boys (16%) (p < 0.01). The prevalence of underweight was 8% among both girls and boys. Despite large variations in the prevalence of overweight and obesity between municipalities (9–35%), no association was found with municipality figures on socio-demographic factors. Conclusion:  In the northernmost county Finnmark, the prevalence of overweight including obesity among 6-year-old children was somewhat higher than in previous surveys from Norway, especially among girls

Interrelationships between anthropometric variables and overweight in childhood and adolescence

Objectives To answer the questions: how does body mass index (BMI) correlate to five overweight related anthropometric variables during different ages in childhood, and which anthropometric variables contribute most to variation in BMI during childhood? Methods Data on BMI, height (H), sitting height (SH), waist circumference (WC), waist to height ratio (WHtR), waist to sitting height ratio (WSHtR), subscapular skinfold (SSF), and triceps skinfold (TSF), from 4,576 Norwegian children 4.00–15.99 years of age, were transformed to standard deviation scores (SDS) and studied using correlation and multiple regression analyses. Results The correlations between BMI SDS and the standardized anthropometric variables were in general strong and positive. For all variables, the correlations were weakest in the youngest age group and highest between 7 and 12 years. WC SDS and WHtR SDS were most strongly correlated with BMI SDS through all ages and in both sexes. A model with seven anthropometric variables adjusted for age and sex explained 81.4% of the variation in BMI SDS. When adjusted for all other variables, WC SDS contributed most to the variation in BMI SDS (b = 0.467, CI [0.372, 0.562]). Age group, but not sex, contributed significantly to variation in BMI SDS. Conclusion The interrelationships between BMI SDS and five standardized overweight related anthropometric variables were dependent on age, being weakest in the youngest age group. Independent of sex and age, WC SDS was in this study superior to other anthropometric variables in contributing to variation in BMI SDS during childhood. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 26:502–510, 2014. © 2014 The Authors American Journal of Human Biology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Meðfædd bogfrymlasótt : tvö nýgreind sjúkratilfelli

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenTwo girls with congenital toxoplasmosis are described. This is a rare disease in Iceland. The patients both had signs of chorioretinitis and cerebral calcifications and were treated with combination therapy of pyrimethamine, sulfonamide and folinic acid, alternating with spiramycin. The importance of preventive measures against toxoplasma infection is discussed with special emphasis on pregnant women.Greint er frá tveimur stúlkum með meðfædda bogfrymlasótt. Fjallað er um lífsferil og smitleiðir bogfrymla, tíðni, einkenni, greiningu og meðferð sjúkdómsins svo og fyrirbyggjandi aðgerðir. Tilgangurinn með skrifum þessum er að vekja athygli á, að meðfædd bogfrymlasótt (toxoplasmosis congenita) er til á Íslandi. Forvarnir, einkum fræðsla fyrir ófrískar konur, eru einfaldasta og hagkvæmasta leiðin til að stemma stigu við þessum sjúkdómi

Fødselsstatistikken 2019

Hoveddelen av dataene fra Medisinsk fødselsregister (MFR) for 2019 ble publisert i juni i år. Data om mors helse før og under svangerskapet samt data fra nyfødtavdelingene er publisert nå i desember og er tilgjengelig i vår statistikkbank. MFR har i år pga. den pågående pandemien også hatt en ekstrapublisering med et utvalg av variabler for 2020 data. Sjekk våre nettsider for mer informasjon om dette

Meðfædd bogfrymlasótt : tvö nýgreind sjúkratilfelli

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenTwo girls with congenital toxoplasmosis are described. This is a rare disease in Iceland. The patients both had signs of chorioretinitis and cerebral calcifications and were treated with combination therapy of pyrimethamine, sulfonamide and folinic acid, alternating with spiramycin. The importance of preventive measures against toxoplasma infection is discussed with special emphasis on pregnant women.Greint er frá tveimur stúlkum með meðfædda bogfrymlasótt. Fjallað er um lífsferil og smitleiðir bogfrymla, tíðni, einkenni, greiningu og meðferð sjúkdómsins svo og fyrirbyggjandi aðgerðir. Tilgangurinn með skrifum þessum er að vekja athygli á, að meðfædd bogfrymlasótt (toxoplasmosis congenita) er til á Íslandi. Forvarnir, einkum fræðsla fyrir ófrískar konur, eru einfaldasta og hagkvæmasta leiðin til að stemma stigu við þessum sjúkdómi

Fødselsstatistikken 2019

Hoveddelen av dataene fra Medisinsk fødselsregister (MFR) for 2019 ble publisert i juni i år. Data om mors helse før og under svangerskapet samt data fra nyfødtavdelingene er publisert nå i desember og er tilgjengelig i vår statistikkbank. MFR har i år pga. den pågående pandemien også hatt en ekstrapublisering med et utvalg av variabler for 2020 data. Sjekk våre nettsider for mer informasjon om dette