The Percentiles of Body Mass Index and Trend of Obesity in Schoolage Children in Seoul

PURPOSE: Many authors have reported that obesity is a serious health problem in schoolage children and adolescents and recently obese children are increasing. Accurate diagnosis is needed to estimate the prevalence rate and trend of obesity. We studied body mass index(BMI) percentile for age and sex as a reliable and valid screening for adiposity. METHODS: We measured weight and height of 33,329 schoolage children to estimate obesity according to body mass index(weight in kilograms/height in meters2) and different standard weight. We also calculated BMI percentiles according to age and sex. We defined obesity for screening purposes as body mass index(BMI) equal to or in excess of the 95th percentile for age and sex. We also compared the prevalence of obesity according to a different standard weight. RESULTS: The mean value of body mass index(BMI) increases with age and tends to be slightly higher for male than female subjects. The 95th percentiles of body mass index(BMI) ranges from 18.9kg/m2 to 28.2kg/m2 for both males and females. No significant differences were apparent in the mean value of body mass index for each year. CONCLUSION: The percentile curves of body mass index(BMI) will help pediatricians to determine the relative ranking of patients compared with large sample of healthy schoolage children. Further studies are needed to define a useful criteria for defining obesity using body mass index(BMI) in childhood and adolescence. A longitudinal study and nationwide sampling will be required to overcome the limitation of this cross-sectional study.

Survival Analysis of the Children with Down Syndrome / 대한주산의학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To determine the life expectancy and causes of death of the children with Down syndrome(DS), longitudinal follow-up study was done for 29 cases of DS who were born at CHA hospital located in Seoul During the period from July 1991 to Dec. 1994. METHODS: 29 cases were divided into groups according to the presence of congenital heart disease (CHD) and leukemia. CHD group was subdivided into DS with complete AVSD(atrioventricular septal defect) and DS without complete AVSD. Survival curves were calculated by kaplan-Meier product limit method. Each group were compared by log rank test. The factors affecting mortality rate were analyzed by Cox's proportional hazard regressional model. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences in mortality rate between groups with CHD(35.3%) and without CHD(33.3%)(p=0.7373). Statistical difference was not observed between CHD subgroups with AVSD and with CHD other than AVSD. There were significant statistical difference in mortality rate between groups with leukemia and without leukemia(p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: The factor affecting mortality rate of DS was the presence of leukemia regardless of presence of CHD in our study cases with DS.

The Analytic Review of Standard Growth Value in School-Age Children in Seoul

PURPOSE: It hasn't been developed a new standard growth value for children in Korea since 1985. This study was designed to compare the difference of standard growth value of height, weight and chest circumference for school-age children in Seoul between 1985 and 1994. METHODS: Height, weight and chest circumference were measured in 6,308 students, aged 6-17 years, of 12 elementary schools, 12 junior and 12 senior high schools located in Seoul on 5th to 15th May 1994. And there data were compared with the standard growth value for school-age children of Seoul in 1985. RESULTS: The results were as follows, 1) The height in 50 percentiles in 1994 was compared to 50 to 75 percentiles in 1985 and the height in 3percentiles in 1994 was compared to 10 to 25 percentiles in 1985. 2) The weight in 50 percentiles in 1994 was compared to 50 to 75 percentiles in 1985. 3) The height was increased equally in every percentiles, but weight and chest circumference were increased more markedly in high growth percentiles. CONCLUSIONS: It is mandatory to have a new standard growth value for children in Korea through the nation wide investigation because of difference of growth value between 1994 and 1985 in Seoul.