Albuminuria, renal function and blood pressure in undernourished children and recovered from undernutrition

Ambulatory blood pressure monitorisation in children with recombinant growth hormone treatment

OBJECTIVES

It is safe to use recombinant growth hormone in children. Studies have shown it to be effective and safe, except for a few side effects in the short and long term after treatment. The present study investigated the presence of hypertension in pediatric patients receiving growth hormone treatment using 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).

METHODS

This study is a single-center, retrospective study. Eighty-four patients aged 5-16 years who received growth hormone treatment for at least 3 months, who underwent 24 h ABPM were analyzed. They were compared with 67 patients who had no risk factors for hypertension.

RESULTS

In the study, 84 rhGH-treated patients (45.2 % male, 54.8 % female) and 67 healthy control groups (49.3 % male, 50.7 % female) were analyzed. The mean age of the patient group was 10.83±2.85 years and the mean age of the healthy control group was 13.1±2.93 years. The diagnostic classification of the patients receiving treatment was as follows: 66.6 % (n=56) partial growth hormone deficiency, 22.6 % (n=19) growth hormone deficiency, 7.1 % (n=6) bioactive growth hormone, 2.3 % (n=2) idiopathic short stature, 1.1 % (n=1) low birth weight for gestational age (SGA). Body mass index was significantly lower in the treated group (p=0.013). The duration of treatment was 6.04±4.9 months. Daytime diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower in the treated group (p=0.001). There was no correlation between BMI and ABPM parameters in the treatment group and the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study shows that growth hormone treatment is safe in terms of high blood pressure.

Prevalence of excess body weight and underweight among 26 Chinese ethnic minority children and adolescents in 2014: a cross-sectional observational study

Background

Little is known regarding the nutritional burden in Chinese ethnic minority children. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of excess body weight and underweight for 26 ethnic groups.

Methods

Data on 80,821 participants aged 7–18 years across 26 minorities, with completed records from a large national cross-sectional survey, were obtained from Chinese National Survey on Students’ Constitution and Health (CNSSCH) in 2014. Excess body weight, underweight and their components were classified according to Chinese national BMI references.

Results

The overall prevalence of excess body weight and underweight among ethnic groups were 12.0% and 14.5%, in which 4.4% and 4.1% of the participants were classified as obese and severe wasting, respectively. Compared with girls, boys showed a higher prevalence of underweight, severe wasting and obesity, but a lower prevalence of excess body weight (P < 0.05). Among 26 ethnic groups, Koreans had the highest prevalence of excess body weight (30.4%), while Bouyeis showed the highest prevalence of underweight (25.7%). The ethnic minority groups with high prevalence of excess body weight and underweight were more likely to show high burden of obesity and severe wasting, respectively. However, it is not the case for some groups, such as Miaos and Shuis.

Conclusions

A worrying dual burden of excess body weight and underweight was recognized in Chinese ethnic minority children. Since various characteristics were found among different minorities, the ethnic-specific effort is warranted to improve their nutritional status.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5352-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Cross-sectional Prospective Study of Asymptomatic Urinary Abnormalities, Blood Pressure, and Body Mass Index in Healthy School Children

Introduction

Screening school children for urinary abnormalities is an inexpensive task but is not commonly undertaken in India. Although debated in western countries, its utility in early diagnosis of kidney disorders has been proved by studies from Asia. We examined the prevalence of asymptomatic urinary abnormalities (AUA), obesity, and hypertension in school children and analyzed data to identify potential risk factors among those detected with such abnormalities.

Methods

Children and adolescents 8 to 18 years of age of either gender, attending 14 public schools in West Bengal, were screened prospectively from July 2013 to July 2016 for detecting asymptomatic urinary abnormalities by a spot urine test using a dipstick. Sociodemographic profile, medical examination (weight, height, and blood pressure), and questionnaire-based data were recorded.

Results

A total of 11,000 children were screened. Of these, data from 9306 children were available for AUA, obesity, and hypertension. The prevalence rate was 7.44% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.91%−7.97%) for at least 1 AUA. Isolated hematuria was present in 5.2% (95% CI 4.75%−5.65%), whereas isolated proteinuria was present in 1.9% (95% CI = 1.62%−2.18%). The prevalence of prehypertension was 13.43% (95% CI = 12.74%−14.12%) and that of hypertension and abnormal body mass index was 4.05% (95% CI = 6.43%−7.47%) and 38.67 (95% CI = 37.68%−39.66%) respectively.

Discussion

The prevalence rates of AUA were comparable with those in some Asian countries but higher than in most developed countries. Of children and adolescents 8 to 18 years of age, those 13 to 18 years had significantly more high risk factors such as AUA, hypertension, and obesity.