Risk factors in idiopathic obesity in preschool children in Alexandria

Childhood obesity is among the most difficult problems which pediatricians treat. Although I great pm of children are affected. this condition is under diagnosed and under treated. Obesity tends to track throughout Life. It presents numerous problem for the child as pediatric hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, increased risk of coronary heart disease and increased stress on the weight bearing joints. It lowers self-esteem and affects relationships with peers. This work studies idiopathic obesity in preschool children in Alexandria. A case control study was done on a total sample of 40 obese children, 34 overweight children and 160 matched controls. The study revealed significant increase of obesity in middle socioeconomic status, unhealthy food habits and an increase in time of TV watching. Also, a significant increase of positive family history among obese children was found. There was also a significant increase of obesity in bottle fed infants. Behavior disturbances were significantly increased among obese children. Parent education, diet management and physical education are the best guidelines for prevention

Childhood bronchial asthma as a social problem

Asthma is one of the most frequently occurring chronic health conditions of childhood and there is evidence that its prevalence and severity are increasing. The goal of this paper is to investigate the impact of childhood asthma on children's health by comparing the status of children with and without asthma to determine the overall impact on the functional status and psychosocial functioning of the child. A case-control study was conducted on preschool children attending the three main experimental language schools in Alexandria. The children were subjected to screening questions adopted from the National Health Interview Survey to identify children who had asthma. Asthma severity score was used to classify asthmatic children according to the severity of asthma. Assessment of children's activity was done by using NHIS classification. Assessment of behavior disturbances was done by using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist. The study revealed signiiicant limitation of activity in asthmatic children either with mild asthma [P = 0.003] or moderate/severe asthma [P = 0.000]. The increase of school absence was significant in moderate/severe asthmatic children [P = 0.003] but not significant in mild asthma [P = 0.83]. There was also a significant increase of behavior disturbances between children with mild asthma [P = 0.004] and children with moderate/severe asthma [P = 0.000]

Occupational risks for preschool teachers in Alexandria

We studied the occupational hazards facing the preschool teachers in Alexandria. The study included 106 preschool teachers working in kindergarten in Alexandria. They were all in the childbearing age. Their ages ranged from 20-30 years. The occupational health risks were studied by questionnaire including data about communicable diseases, occupational stress and ergonomic hazards leading to musculoskeletal problems. There was a significant increase of respiratory illness in unhealthy places [X[2]=24.22, p<0.05], a significant increase of bone ache among preschool teachers in the presence of several jobs [X[2]=27.09, p<0.05]. The study also revealed a significant increase of bone ache in teachers having psychological stress [X[2]=35.34, p<0.05] and teachers having job stress [X[2]=28.36, p<0.05]. There was a significant association between type of education and both headache [X[2]=20.48, p<0.05] and psychological stress [X[2]=11.90, p<0.05]. Proper management of the environment will decrease occupational risks for preschool teachers

Risk factors of febrile seizures among preschool children in Alexandria

The study design was a case control study to identify the risk factors of febrile seizures. Total sample of 28 children, their ages ranging from 12 to 60 months, with febrile seizure were matched with control group of 60 children of the same age group with fever without seizure. The peak age of first febrile seizure was between 6 and 12 months. The significant risk factors were upper respiratory tract infection [p<0.05], family history of febrile seizures [p<0.0001].Prematurity [p<0.005], problems during gestation [p<0.005], family history of epilepsy [p<0.005] and problem during labour [p<.0.005]