Acquired cysts of the kidneys in children with chronic renal failure

The study aimed at evaluating an incidence of the acquired cysts of the kidneys in children with chronic renal failure. The study involved 33 children with renal failure treated conservatively with continuous peritoneal dialysis under ambulatory conditions and hemodialyses. CT tomography and sonography were carried out in all patients. The acquired cysts of the kidney were diagnosed in one out of 33 examined patients (3.03%) by ultrasound. This result was confirmed by CT-scanning. It is worth following the development of the cyst in his child waiting for kidney transplantation and further following all dialysed patients with ultrasound performed once per three months and CT-scans in some patients.     

Radiodiagnosis of traumatic injuries of the kidneys in children

Altogether 35 children (21 boys and 14 girls) with traumatic renal lesions ages 5 to 14 were examined, of them 23 were subjected to operation 2-13 h after injury, 12 patients received conservative therapy. The patients were divided into 3 groups with relation to a degree of severity of injury: mild (12 patients), moderate (20 patients) and grave (3 patients). All the children were given combined clinical, x-ray and radiological examination. Normally the most informative diagnostic method was excretory urography, particularly its infusion variant. Renography, renoscanning or dynamic renoscintigraphy were employed for observation over time to reduce radiation exposure.     

Hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome in children with overweight and obesity

ObjectiveTo study the prevalence of hyperuricemia in children with overweight or obesity and analyze the relation with metabolic syndrome and the diseases that define it.Materials and methodsThis is a cross-sectional prevalence study in 148 children recruited from pediatric endocrinology consultation, with overweight or obesity (12 ± 3 years, 48% boys, BMI 31.8 ± 6.1). We measured BMI, waist-height, waist circumference, blood pressure with standard instrumentation and glucose (fasting and after overload with 75 g), insulin resistance, cholesterol HDL, triglycerides and uric acid.ResultsThe prevalence of hyperuricemia was 53%. Patients with hyperuricemia had greater BMI (33.9 vs 30.6, p = 0.003), plus waist circumference (101.4 vs 91.1 cm, p < 0.001), higher blood pressure: systolic (123.4 vs 111.9 mm Hg, p < 0.001), diastolic (78.2 vs 68.7 mm Hg, p < 0.001). They presented greater blood glucose after overload oral glucose (107.5 vs 100.7 mg/dl, p = 0.03), insulin was higher (29.2 vs 20.7 mg/dl, p = 0.001) as well as HOMA IR (6.5 vs 4.4, p < 0.001) and HDL levels were lower (49.5 vs 54.4 mg/dl, p = 0.02).Uric acid's level which most is the likely diagnosis of metabolic syndrome corresponds to 5.4 mg/dl in our sample (sensitivity: 64% and specificity 62%).ConclusionThe prevalence of hyperuricemia in children with overweight and obesity is high. In the group of patients with obesity and hyperuricemia, we found out that the parameters measured to diagnose with metabolic syndrome were less favorable. Uric acid's level from where there is a higher possibility to see metabolic syndrome is 5.4 mg/dl.     

Assessment of the character and incidence of electrocardiographic changes in children with simple obesity

The studied group comprised 82 children with simple obesity. In the group the character and frequency of ECG changes in 12 conventional leads were analyzed. A correlation was established between the character and frequency of these changes and the degree of overweight and obesity duration. In children with simple obesity a considerable prevalence was observed of disturbances of sinus rhythm, impairment of intraventricular conduction and signs of left ventricular hypertrophy. The observed changes were more frequent in children with over 5 years of obesity duration. No correlation was demonstrated between the incidence of these changes and the degree of overweight.     

Higher prevalence of obesity among children with asthma

The aim of this study is to investigate the association between childhood obesity and asthma, and whether this relationship varies by race/ethnicity. For this population-based, cross-sectional study, measured weight and height, and asthma diagnoses were extracted from electronic medical records of 681,122 patients aged 6-19 years who were enrolled in an integrated health plan 2007-2009. Weight class was assigned based on BMI-for-age. Overall, 18.4% of youth had a history of asthma and 10.9% had current asthma. Adjusted odds of current asthma for overweight, moderately obese, and extremely obese youth relative to those of normal weight were 1.22 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 1.24), 1.37 (95% CI: 1.34, 1.40), and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.64, 1.73), respectively (P trend < 0.001). Black youth are nearly twice as likely (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.89, 1.99), and Hispanic youth are 25% less likely (adjusted OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.74, 0.77), to have current asthma than to non-Hispanic white youth. However, the relationship between BMI and asthma was strongest in Hispanic and weakest in black youth. Among youth with asthma, increasing body mass was associated with more frequent ambulatory and emergency department visits, as well as increased inhaled and oral corticosteroid use. In conclusion, overweight, moderate, and extreme obesity are associated with higher odds of asthma in children and adolescents, although the association varies widely with race/ethnicity. Increasing BMI among youth with asthma is associated with higher consumption of corticosteroids and emergency department visits.     

肥胖孕妇肠道菌群与子代肥胖的相关性

妊娠期肥胖发生率在世界范围内呈上升趋势,成为影响人类健康的公共卫生问题。肥胖母亲肠道菌群失调导致婴儿早期定植菌群异常,而婴儿早期菌群定植情况与其日后生长发育密切相关,容易导致成年后出现肥胖、胰岛素抵抗、代谢综合征等疾病。因此针对肥胖孕妇肠道菌群分析,以及婴儿肠道菌群及生长发育的分析,对于孕妇孕期管理、健康宣教提高国民整体身体素质具有重要意义。     

Altered macrophage-like functions of preadipocytes in inflammation and genetic obesity

We recently demonstrated that preadipocytes exhibit functional features of macrophages, such as phagocytosis and anti-microbial activity, suggesting that preadipose cells could play a role in the inflammatory process or immune response. The aim of this study was to compare these functions of both macrophages and cells from stroma-vascular fraction (SVF) of the adipose tissue in two different situations, obesity and inflammation, characterized by alterations in immune responsiveness. We demonstrated that ob/ob mice exhibited strong decrease in antimicrobial activity of both macrophages and SVF. This defect is compensated in SVF, at least in part, by an enhancement of phagocytosis that does not seem to be due to an increased macrophage number. In vitro leptin treatment of SVF and macrophages from obese mice did not restore their immune defects. Thioglycollate treatment of lean and obese mice induced an inflammatory process that led to an increase in macrophage activity in both strains. This stimulation also observed in SVF from lean mice is not present in obese ones. This work demonstrated that SVF immune functions could be modified in different pathological situations such as inflammation and obesity and sustained the new physiological role of preadipocytes in these processes.     

Thyroid function and obesity in children and adolescents

The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the frequency of thyroid dysfunction as assessed by TSH, T3 and T4 in a large cohort of 290 obese and 280 healthy children. In addition, thyroid autoantibodies were measured in random subgroups of 123 obese and 80 control children, iodine excretion in 50 and thyroid volume in 23 of the obese children. Elevated TSH levels (>4 U/l) were found in 22 obese children (7.5%), but only in one control (0.3%). The medians of TSH and T3 concentrations were normal, but significantly higher in the obese group than in the controls, while T4 levels did not differ. The prevalence of positive thyroid autoantibodies was increased in the obese children, for the most part in those with elevated TSH. There was no evidence for iodine deficiency as a cause of the average increase of TSH. We conclude that in childhood obesity TSH and T3 levels are significantly increased; in most cases, however, these increases are not accounted for by thyroid autoimmunity or iodine deficiency. As a consequence, TSH elevations with normal thyroid hormone levels in obese children don't need any thyroxine treatment, if thyroid disorders were definitely excluded beforehand.     

Comparative evaluation of obesity-related parameters in junior sumo wrestlers and children with obesity

[Purpose]Exercise is a key factor in preventing obesity and metabolic syndrome. Sumo wrestlers increase their body size from childhood for athletic advantage; however, the risk of metabolic syndrome in junior sumo wrestlers is undetermined. Preventive measures against pediatric obesity should be initiated during childhood to prevent obesity in adulthood, considering its high global incidence. We comparatively evaluated the risk factors for metabolic syndrome in junior sumo wrestlers and children with obesity.[Methods]We enrolled 70 male children (age 9–17 years [sumo group, n = 14] and 9–14 years [other sports and non-exercise groups, n = 28 each]) and evaluated their anthropometric parameters (height, weight, body mass index z-score, obesity rate, waist circumference, waist to height ratio) and hematological parameters (total, low-density, high-density, and non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; triglycerides; plasma glucose, and glycated hemoglobin levels).[Results]The BMI z-score, obesity rate, waist circumference (p < 0.05, along with the non-exercise group), and systolic blood pressure were significantly higher and the high-density cholesterol level was lower in the sumo group than in the other sports group (p < 0.05). The waist to height ratio was significantly higher in the non-exercise group than in the other sports group (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in other blood lipid, plasma glucose (significantly lower level than the reference range in the sumo group, p < 0.05), and glycated hemoglobin (within the reference range in all groups) levels among the three groups.[Conclusion]Junior sumo wrestlers had a larger body size and higher blood pressure than children with obesity who exercised regularly. This provides direction for future research into targeted preventive interventions against metabolic syndrome for junior sumo wrestlers with large body size.     

Overweight and obesity prevalence in urban Sardinian children

The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children (6-10 years) of the city of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) with different socioeconomic status. The sample is composed by 1000 children, 500 males and 500 females, 6 to 10 years old, attending primary schools in Cagliari during 2003. For uniformity with similar Italian studies, in this study overweight and obesity were defined as calculated from the charts published by Tanner et al. (1966). In the Cagliari children, the prevalence of obesity is 22.70%. The percentages of overweight and obese children increase with age: respectively from 11.5% and 14.0% at 6 years to 15.4% and 22.7% at 10 years. There are higher numbers of overweight and obese boys than girls in all the age classes. Both males and females show an increasing percentage of overweight and obesity as the socioeconomic level decreases. Males present higher percentages of overweight and obesity than females of the same social level, i.e. in the lowest social category overweight is 18.68% in males and 13.60% in females and obesity 26.46% in males and 23.62% in females. The standard multivariate regression analysis with the indicator of overweight and obesity as dependent variable showed that the sex (male), socio-economic status, maternal schooling and sums of the limb and trunk skinfolds have the greatest influence on overweight and obesity. The results suggest that overweight and obesity are becoming serious social and health problems in Sardinia.     

Social inequality and obesity in Czech school children

This study uses logistic regressions to consider the effect of social factors, physical activity, meal frequency and BMI of parents on children's body mass index (BMI) values. Three thousand three hundred and sixty-two children aged 7-11 years were examined in 38 schools in the Czech Republic. Six anthropometric characteristics were assessed in 1999-2000. Most important factors influencing children's BMI values were: obesity of both or at least one of the parents, being an only child, residence in small communities, and irregular breakfasts.