Relationship between obesity and asthma symptoms among children in Ahvaz, Iran: a cross sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity has been identified as a risk factor for higher prevalence of asthma and asthma-related symptoms in children. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the prevalence of asthma symptoms and obesity among school-age children in the city of Ahvaz, Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 903 children, 7 to 11 years of age, were enrolled in this study through cluster sampling. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was used to identify the children who were currently suffering from asthma. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated in kg/m². Overweight was defined as BMI greater than the age- and sex-specific 85th percentile, and obesity as BMI greater than the 95th percentile. We determined the relationship between obesity and asthma symptoms by chi-square tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of wheeze ever, current wheezing, obesity, and overweight was 21.56%, 8.7%, 6.87%, and 9.5%, respectively. The current prevalence of wheezing among obese and overweight children was 68.75% and 37%, respectively, and there was a statistical association between obesity and the prevalence of current wheezing (p < 0.001), night cough (p < 0.001), and exercise-induced wheezing (p = 0.009), but obesity and overweight were not associated with eczema and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, so it seems that the pathophysiology of asthma in obese and overweight children is not related to allergy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is a strong association between asthma symptoms and both overweight and obesity in both sexes among school-age children.</p

Neck Circumference as a Useful Marker for Screening Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents

Objectives: Overweight and obesity at an early age are an important criterion for predicting chronic diseases. Each anthropometric method available to assess obesity has its limitations. Recently, one of the indices proposed to better detect this complication is neck circumference (NC). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between NC, and body mass index (BMI), and to find a cutoff NC size to identify children with a high BMI. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 864 students aged 6–17 years from the schools in Ahvaz, Iran. Measurements, including height, weight, neck, mid-arm, and waist circumference (WC), and clinical information were collected by trained physicians. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated between NC and other obesity indices, and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the best cutoff value of NC in predicting high BMI. Results: NC in both genders was significantly correlated with BMI, WC, and mid-arm circumference. The best cutoff value of NC to identify boys with a high BMI was 27.5–38.3 cm, and for girls was 26.7–33.4 cm. Conclusions: NC is significantly correlated with overweight and obesity. It can be used with great reliability to screen overweight and obesity in children, and to identify those with a high BMI

ANTI-TTG AMONG CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC FUNCTIONAL CONSTIPATION UNRESPONSIVE TO 6 WEEKS OF TREATMENT OF CONSTIPATION

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Celiac disease is a glutten induced enteropathy. Some authors recommended screening celiac in children with constipation. There are studies to evaluate celiac disease in children with constipation. But most of them included children regardless to treatment failure. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate frequency of elevated anti TTG in children with constipation after failure to improve during 6 week of appropriate treatment of constipation. METHODS In this cross sectional study, 550 children with prolonged constipation were included. Place of study was Pediatric Gastroenterology clinic of Abuzar children’s hospital. Prolonged constipation was defined as a constipation which failed to resolved after 6 weeks of appropriate treatment. Constipation was defined according to ROME III criteria. After parental agreement, 5 mL of blood was obtained. Serum anti TTG level was measure using ELISA method by Orientec kit. Anti TTG>10 was considered positive if IgA was normal. SPSS version 16.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data analysis. Chi square, t-test, and Mann Whitney test used for data analysis. RESULTS In this study 550 children (m=277, f=273) were included. Mean age of the cases was 6.8±2.9 year. Anti TTG antibody level was 5.8±2.8 unit/mL. Of these case, 42 (7.6%) had positive anti-TTG antibody. Celiac disease was confirmed in 40 cases after histopathology examination. CONCLUSION Anti-TTG was positive in 7.6% children with chronic constipation who failed to respond after 6 week of treatment. Another multicenter study with longer follow up period is recommended

Assessment of serum 25(OH)D level in infants with bronchiolitis

Background: Bronchiolitis is one of the most common diseases of the lower respiratory tract in infants. Vitamin D has been shown to be protective against lower respiratory infections; however, there are limited and contradictory results in relation to serum vitamin D level and the incidence of bronchiolitis in children. The aim of this study was to compare serum levels of this vitamin in healthy infants and infants with acute bronchiolitis. Methods: This case-control study conducted at Abuzar hospital in Ahvaz city, during October to March of 2014. Three groups of 45 eligible infants including control, low and high intensity of bronchiolitis enrolled to study. The severity of bronchiolitis classified according to scores derived from the respiratory distress assessment index. One to eight scores considered as low intensity and 9 to 17 scores considered as high intensity of bronchiolitis. Subsequently, 3 ml of venous blood sample were taken from them and the serum levels of 25(OH)D were measured by using an enzymatic kit. Results: 60 (44.4%) infants were girls. The mean age of the control, low and high intensity of bronchiolitis groups were 11.2&plusmn;5.2, 10&plusmn;5.8 and 9.8&plusmn;4.7 months, respectively (P=0.1). The mean of 25(OH)D concentrations in the control, low and high intensity bronchiolitis groups were 28.3&plusmn;19.4, 17.7&plusmn;11.7 and 13.6&plusmn;5.7 nm/l, respectively. There was a significant difference in levels of 25(OH)D between the control-low intensity bronchiolitis groups (P=0.001) and the control-high intensity bronchiolitis groups (P=0.002), this difference was not significant between the two groups of bronchiolitis. There was a direct and significant correlation between serum level of 25(OH)D and age (r=0.2, P=0.005), breast milk consumption (r=0.3, P=0.001), and vitamin D supplementation (r=0.6, P=0.000). Conclusion: In the present study, levels of 25(OH)D were significantly lower in infants with bronchiolitis than control group. In addition, 25(OH)D levels did not affect the severity of bronchiolitis