Background: Information on the relationship between height and changes in serum lipids in children is scarce in Cameroon. The aim of this study is to determine prevalence of dyslipidemia with respect to age and gender...Background: Information on the relationship between height and changes in serum lipids in children is scarce in Cameroon. The aim of this study is to determine prevalence of dyslipidemia with respect to age and gender and assess the association between height increase and serum lipid changes in Cameroon children. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional analysis included 472 boys and 534 girls between the ages of 5 and 16 years. Body height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) of children were measured and z-scores calculated. Total cholesterol-TC, triglycerides-TG, low density lipoprotein cholesterol-LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol-HDL-C concentrations in fasting blood samples were determined by enzymatic method using an automated clinical chemistry analyzer (RX Monaco, UK). Children were divided into increasing quartiles of height z-score. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to compare mean lipid concentrations across quartiles of height z-score after controlling for age, gender, body weight, WC and fasting blood glucose. Results: The prevalence of elevated TC and LDL-C were respectively 18.5% and 19.2% higher in girls than boys. Also, the prevalence of elevated TC and TG was highest among younger (5- to 9-year-old) girls and boys respectively. There was a significant decrease in mean TC (168.8 to 127.2 mg/dl;p p = 0.019) and LDL-C (91.1 to 69.4 mg/dl;p = 0.018) in boys;and a significant decrease in mean TC (171.2 to 144.7 mg/dl;p = 0.004) and HDL-C (62.8 to 28.7 mg/dl;p p = 0.053) and the decrease in TG (p = 0.211) and LDL-C (p = 0.732) in girls with increasing height were not significant. Conclusion: Serum lipids decreased with increasing height after controlling for different variables. This study indicates that short children have higher serum lipid concentrations and this may increase the risk of lipid disorders, which may persist into adulthood.展开更多
In this study, normal ranges for hematology and serum biochemistry in children aged 1 to 5 years inUgandawere determined. By a cross-sectional study, 1168 children from Iganga, a prospective site for clinical trials i...In this study, normal ranges for hematology and serum biochemistry in children aged 1 to 5 years inUgandawere determined. By a cross-sectional study, 1168 children from Iganga, a prospective site for clinical trials in Uganda, were screened. From 1168 households, 460 children were selected for enrollment, while 600 (58%) were excluded because of either a history of fever in the previous 24 hours, presence of asexual malaria parasites in the peripheral blood or presence of fever. Accordingly, 460 children (39.4%) of median age = 3 years were enrolled in the baseline study. While the lower limits of hemoglobin, hematocrit levels, mean corpuscular volume and platelet counts for the Ugandan children were found to be less than conventional reference values of Caucasisan children, the white blood cell count reference values were higher than the international intervals. On the other hand, the upper limits of the reference intervals for serum transaminases, bilirubin, creatinine, urea, total protein and albumin in sera of the Ugandan children were higher than the corresponding values for a Caucasian pediatric population. This study showed that, if hematology test results of the Ugandan children were assessed against “imported” international reference values, up to 44.6% of the study participants would have been excluded from clinical trials or would have been reported as adverse events in such trials. The present study was not only the first report of serum biochemistry reference ranges for children aged one to five years in Uganda but also one of very few such studies in Africa.展开更多
Background: Significant iron deficiency anaemia is a major concern in children with helminthiasis, because it may eventually contribute to the growing health challenges of severe anaemia This descriptive cross section...Background: Significant iron deficiency anaemia is a major concern in children with helminthiasis, because it may eventually contribute to the growing health challenges of severe anaemia This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out to determine the association between serum ferritin levels and intestinal helminthiasis among school children. Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to collect the study population data. Stool specimens were obtained and examined on the same day using the sedimentation method for identification of the parasite. Blood samples were also obtained for full blood count and serum ferritin measurement. Results: A total of 246 school children were studied with a response rate of 82%. The prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis was 29.7%. The different helminthes identified included Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus, Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercoralis. Of the population studied, 36.2% were anaemic, 15.9% had microcytosis, and 47.6% had hypochromia. The prevalence of ex-hausted iron stores was 3.7%. Serum ferritin levels were significantly lower in children with intestinal helminthiasis compared with controls. Conclusions: The findings in this study demonstrate an inverse re-lationship between intestinal helminthiasis and serum ferritin levels and this is more marked in pupils with hookworm infections. The control of intestinal hel-minthiasis and prevention of iron deficiency anaemia should be given high priority in the implementation of the school health programme.展开更多
Background: Vitamin D plays a pivotal role in supporting the immune system, helping to reduce the risk of infections and certain autoimmune diseases. Adequate vitamin D levels may be associated with a reduced risk of ...Background: Vitamin D plays a pivotal role in supporting the immune system, helping to reduce the risk of infections and certain autoimmune diseases. Adequate vitamin D levels may be associated with a reduced risk of certain health conditions like pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and postpartum depression. Brittle bones, osteoporosis in the elderly, and osteomalacia in young children are all symptoms of vitamin D insufficiency. Additionally, it contributes to problems linked to gum disease, including an increase in dental cavities, alveolar bone loss around the teeth, and other problems. It could lead to depression, tiredness, and a loss of appetite. In this study, urban children and adolescents in Dhaka city, Bangladesh are examined for vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency. Methods: The Study was a cross-sectional study conducted under Dhaka National Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka and additionally included two other health centers Medinova Medical Services and Monoara General Hospital Service Golap bag, Dhaka from October 2020 to November 2021. The study location was at the 3 (Three) different hospitals which was located in Dhaka City. In this cross-sectional study, Participants will be selected purposively and conveniently based on the age categories from 0 - 19 years of age at the outdoor department of the hospital. The study included the secondary dataset of ambulatory individuals who came to the 3 (three) hospitals, randomly to evaluate serum vitamin D levels on referral from a general out-patient-department (OPD). They were examined for laboratory findings of serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels to determine vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency among children and adolescent groups of both male and female Sex. Results: A total of 6394 individuals with a diverse age group were statistically examined for laboratory findings of serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency was observed in 40.58% of individuals with a mean log of 1.01 ± 0.18 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels, vitamin D insufficiency in 30.93% of individuals with a mean log of 1.38 ± 0.05 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels and vitamin D sufficiency in 19.49% individuals with a mean log of 1.63 ± 0.12 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels. The highest percentage of individuals deficient in vitamin D were children and adolescents of age ranging between 15 to 19 years. Conclusion: The findings of vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents direct higher authorities in the public health sector to take immediate steps to screen, intervene and educate high-risk populations incorporating vitamin D supplements to establish preventive and therapeutic measures.展开更多
文摘Background: Information on the relationship between height and changes in serum lipids in children is scarce in Cameroon. The aim of this study is to determine prevalence of dyslipidemia with respect to age and gender and assess the association between height increase and serum lipid changes in Cameroon children. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional analysis included 472 boys and 534 girls between the ages of 5 and 16 years. Body height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) of children were measured and z-scores calculated. Total cholesterol-TC, triglycerides-TG, low density lipoprotein cholesterol-LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol-HDL-C concentrations in fasting blood samples were determined by enzymatic method using an automated clinical chemistry analyzer (RX Monaco, UK). Children were divided into increasing quartiles of height z-score. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to compare mean lipid concentrations across quartiles of height z-score after controlling for age, gender, body weight, WC and fasting blood glucose. Results: The prevalence of elevated TC and LDL-C were respectively 18.5% and 19.2% higher in girls than boys. Also, the prevalence of elevated TC and TG was highest among younger (5- to 9-year-old) girls and boys respectively. There was a significant decrease in mean TC (168.8 to 127.2 mg/dl;p p = 0.019) and LDL-C (91.1 to 69.4 mg/dl;p = 0.018) in boys;and a significant decrease in mean TC (171.2 to 144.7 mg/dl;p = 0.004) and HDL-C (62.8 to 28.7 mg/dl;p p = 0.053) and the decrease in TG (p = 0.211) and LDL-C (p = 0.732) in girls with increasing height were not significant. Conclusion: Serum lipids decreased with increasing height after controlling for different variables. This study indicates that short children have higher serum lipid concentrations and this may increase the risk of lipid disorders, which may persist into adulthood.
文摘In this study, normal ranges for hematology and serum biochemistry in children aged 1 to 5 years inUgandawere determined. By a cross-sectional study, 1168 children from Iganga, a prospective site for clinical trials in Uganda, were screened. From 1168 households, 460 children were selected for enrollment, while 600 (58%) were excluded because of either a history of fever in the previous 24 hours, presence of asexual malaria parasites in the peripheral blood or presence of fever. Accordingly, 460 children (39.4%) of median age = 3 years were enrolled in the baseline study. While the lower limits of hemoglobin, hematocrit levels, mean corpuscular volume and platelet counts for the Ugandan children were found to be less than conventional reference values of Caucasisan children, the white blood cell count reference values were higher than the international intervals. On the other hand, the upper limits of the reference intervals for serum transaminases, bilirubin, creatinine, urea, total protein and albumin in sera of the Ugandan children were higher than the corresponding values for a Caucasian pediatric population. This study showed that, if hematology test results of the Ugandan children were assessed against “imported” international reference values, up to 44.6% of the study participants would have been excluded from clinical trials or would have been reported as adverse events in such trials. The present study was not only the first report of serum biochemistry reference ranges for children aged one to five years in Uganda but also one of very few such studies in Africa.
文摘Background: Significant iron deficiency anaemia is a major concern in children with helminthiasis, because it may eventually contribute to the growing health challenges of severe anaemia This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out to determine the association between serum ferritin levels and intestinal helminthiasis among school children. Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to collect the study population data. Stool specimens were obtained and examined on the same day using the sedimentation method for identification of the parasite. Blood samples were also obtained for full blood count and serum ferritin measurement. Results: A total of 246 school children were studied with a response rate of 82%. The prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis was 29.7%. The different helminthes identified included Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus, Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercoralis. Of the population studied, 36.2% were anaemic, 15.9% had microcytosis, and 47.6% had hypochromia. The prevalence of ex-hausted iron stores was 3.7%. Serum ferritin levels were significantly lower in children with intestinal helminthiasis compared with controls. Conclusions: The findings in this study demonstrate an inverse re-lationship between intestinal helminthiasis and serum ferritin levels and this is more marked in pupils with hookworm infections. The control of intestinal hel-minthiasis and prevention of iron deficiency anaemia should be given high priority in the implementation of the school health programme.
文摘Background: Vitamin D plays a pivotal role in supporting the immune system, helping to reduce the risk of infections and certain autoimmune diseases. Adequate vitamin D levels may be associated with a reduced risk of certain health conditions like pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and postpartum depression. Brittle bones, osteoporosis in the elderly, and osteomalacia in young children are all symptoms of vitamin D insufficiency. Additionally, it contributes to problems linked to gum disease, including an increase in dental cavities, alveolar bone loss around the teeth, and other problems. It could lead to depression, tiredness, and a loss of appetite. In this study, urban children and adolescents in Dhaka city, Bangladesh are examined for vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency. Methods: The Study was a cross-sectional study conducted under Dhaka National Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka and additionally included two other health centers Medinova Medical Services and Monoara General Hospital Service Golap bag, Dhaka from October 2020 to November 2021. The study location was at the 3 (Three) different hospitals which was located in Dhaka City. In this cross-sectional study, Participants will be selected purposively and conveniently based on the age categories from 0 - 19 years of age at the outdoor department of the hospital. The study included the secondary dataset of ambulatory individuals who came to the 3 (three) hospitals, randomly to evaluate serum vitamin D levels on referral from a general out-patient-department (OPD). They were examined for laboratory findings of serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels to determine vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency among children and adolescent groups of both male and female Sex. Results: A total of 6394 individuals with a diverse age group were statistically examined for laboratory findings of serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency was observed in 40.58% of individuals with a mean log of 1.01 ± 0.18 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels, vitamin D insufficiency in 30.93% of individuals with a mean log of 1.38 ± 0.05 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels and vitamin D sufficiency in 19.49% individuals with a mean log of 1.63 ± 0.12 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels. The highest percentage of individuals deficient in vitamin D were children and adolescents of age ranging between 15 to 19 years. Conclusion: The findings of vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents direct higher authorities in the public health sector to take immediate steps to screen, intervene and educate high-risk populations incorporating vitamin D supplements to establish preventive and therapeutic measures.
