Incidence and risk factors for carbohydrate intolerance in Thai infants with acute diarrhea: an outpatient-based study.

Until recently, information concerning carbohydrate intolerance complicating acute infantile diarrhea of outpatients in Thailand has been lacking. This prospective study was undertaken to determine the incidence and risk factors of secondary carbohydrate intolerance in outpatients. Of 197 well-nourished infants with acute diarrhea who were seen at the outpatient department of Songklanagarind Hospital between July 1991 and June 1992, 62 infants (31.3%) had carbohydrate intolerance, and 7 of the 62 (3.5%) also had acquired monosaccharide intolerance. The clinical characteristics that predicted infants with carbohydrate intolerance were : a low bodyweight relative to the length, dehydration (OR 4.55, 95% CI 1.1.5-17.9), the presence of mucus in diarrheal stools (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.23-6.32) and rotavirus infection (OR 3.49, 95% CI 1.20-10.18).

Ages at thelarche and menarche: study in southern Thai schoolgirls.

Ages at thelarche and menarche have been studied by a status quo method in 3,029 Thai schoolgirls in Hat Yai municipality. The median ages at thelarche and menarche estimated by probit analysis are 9 years 11 months, and 12 years 5 months, respectively. Declining in ages of thelarche and menarche is observed and can be explained by improvement in nutritional status and higher living standards.

Goiter in Thai schoolchildren: study in Hat Yai, southern Thailand.

Examination for goiter was performed in 6,035 schoolchildren (2,899 girls, 3,136 boys), aged 8-17 years, from primary and secondary schools in Hat-Yai municipality, Songkhla province. Goiter was detected in 355 children (combined prevalence 6%; 232 or 8% in girls, 123 or 4% in boys). Of the 355 children with goiter, 214 (60%; 148 girls, 66 boys) participated in the study, and had blood drawn for free thyroxine (FT4), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroid antibodies. All had urine collected for iodine excretion. The diagnoses of goiter were as follows: simple goiter in 192 (89.8%; 129 girls, 63 boys); juvenile autoimmune thyroiditis in 18 (8.4%; 16 girls, 2 boys); Graves' disease in 2 girls (0.9%); thyroid adenoma in 1 boy (0.45%), and ectopic thyroid in 1 girl (0.45%). Acquired hypothyroidism was found in 4 out of 18 children with juvenile autoimmune thyroiditis (22.2%). Iodine deficiency disorder was not evident in children examined shown by high urinary iodine excretion of more than 50 mcg/gm creatinine (mean 298, range 70-630). In conclusion, simple goiter is a common occurrence in children and adolescents in Southern Thailand. Juvenile autoimmune thyroiditis should be identified and differentiated from simple goiter as it is the most common cause of acquired hypothyroidism. Iodine deficiency is not evident in Southern Thailand, at least in the urban areas of a large city.