24 hour monitoring of blood pressure in premature and full-term new born babies.

Using a 24 hour monitoring of the systo-diastolic blood pressure, 127 new born babies were studied in the first five days of life. 45 of these new born babies were premature (35 +/- 1 week) and 82 full-term. The results showed an overlap in the systo-diastolic blood pressure in the 2 groups of subjects with a rise and fall in pressure in the 24 hour period and no fall in pressure during the night typical to a healthy adult.

[Dietetic counseling of obese school child. Study in an elementary school]. / Suggerimenti dietetici per lo scolaro obeso. Indagine nella scuola elementare.

We controlled, after nine months, 29 obese children, who attended the primary school, and to whom it was advised a good balanced base diet of 1200 kcal. One child wasn't obese anymore, and in 13 cases there was a sensible reduction of overweight percentage. We consider these results positively, because our aim was to obtain a gradual resolution of the overweight, trying to avoid some very dangerous relapses for the young's future. Finally, we underline the necessity to begin some conferences about the young's and family's alimentary education, as soon as possible. These conferences have to be addressed to all the teachers, parents and pupils, from the primary school.

[Obesity and hypercholesterolemia in a primary school in Rome]. / Obesità ed ipercolesterolemia in una scuola elementare romana.

The research in particular the incidence of obesity, hypertension and hyperlipemia was evaluated involved 201 primary school children. The results show an obesity percentage equal to 28%; 23% of the young were hypercholesterolic and 21% had hypertriglyceridemia. Nobody was hypertensioned. The high percentage of obese and hjperlipemic subjects suggest the immediate needs of Courses of alimentary education in schools, as well as to resort to sound daily sporting activity.

Early detection by non-invasive monitoring of abnormally elevated systolic blood pressure in newborns with a positive familiarity for hypertension.

This study investigates 263 full-term clinically healthy newborn babies: subdivided into two groups depending on a positive (113 individuals) or negative (150 subjects) family history for hypertension. The babies were comparable for body weight and statural height and equipartitioned into males and females. The infants underwent a non-invasive, automated monitoring of blood pressure during the first three days of their life, according to protocol in which the systolic and diastolic measurements were performed at 1 min intervals over 15 minutes. The babies of the two groups showed superimposable mean values for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. However, the neonates with a positive familiarity for hypertension showed a higher number of systolic readings above the reference limit of 90 mmHg. The higher incidence of the abnormally-elevated systolic values (> 13%) in babies with a positive familiarity for hypertension was seen to be significant, suggesting that their blood pressure pattern is characterized by a larger variability at least in the systolic component. Such a wider variability may be regarded as a phenotypic expression of the genetic predisposition to hypertension, whose risk can be detected by a short-term monitoring of BP soon after the birth.

Follow-up of obese child.

A long-term follow-up which is still being carried out was started in the school-year 1985-86 in a Primary School of Rome and we suggested a written diet of 1300 calories and correct physical exercises. During this long follow-up we studied the changes in percentage of obesity of these subjects, considering their familiarity with obesity. It resulted that after a starting benefit due to the diet and the sport activity, which lasted till 1989, the youngsters with familiarity have subsequently regained the initial situation in 62.5% of cases, unlike those without familiarity who have kept themselves slim in 75% of cases. Even many other facts have been considered, as for example the psychologic approach, blood-tests for cholesterol, triglycerides etc, arterial pressure and above all a very careful feeding recall that has shown as the now obese subjects intake more calories than not obese one, with and excess of calories from fats to the detriment of carbon hydrates.

[The nutrition of the nursing mother in light of a study of 200 new mothers]. / L'alimentazione della nutrice alla luce di uno studio su 200 neo-mamme.

Two hundred new mothers who breastfed their babies were followed over a 2-month period. The nursing mothers' diet was monitored with both qualitative and quantitative suggestions according to modern dietary recommendations. A detailed questionnaire allowed the knowledge of new mothers to be analysed in relation the advantages of breast-feeding, desire to breast-feed, possible breast-feeding of the nursing mother herself, early attachment of the baby to the breast, etc. After 2 months, each mother completed a dietary recall showing how her diet had been corrected both quantitatively and qualitatively. The large number of nursing mothers who had given birth spontaneously and were still breastfeeding (72%) compared to 28% of those undergoing cesarean sections revealed, in view of the equal diet followed, a penalising problem relating to a structural deficiency at a hospital level. In the case of cesarean sections in Italian hospitals, the mother does see her newborn baby and therefore put it to the breast before it is 3-4 days old.

[Correct nutrition of pregnant women for a good fetal-neonatal development]. / La corretta alimentazione della gestante per un ottimale sviluppo feto-neonatale.

Food quantity and quality has been studied in a group of 197 pregnant women during their last quarter of pregnancy. The results were that nourishment was both in quantity and in quality enough close to the LARN advices, with a slight reduction of calories per day (about 300) and a slight lipa excess (+5%) to the depriment of the carbohydrates. Correct was the number of meals per day (4-5) while the "mediterranean diet" has been kept by the 53% of the subjects. Fish consumption was scanty (18%) of the cases.

[The child of hypertensive mother in pregnancy or EPH-gestosis: a long follow-up]. / Il bambino di madre con ipertensione in gravidanza o EPH-gestosi: un lungo follow-up.

Twenty three children of gestosic mothers or those suffering just from hypertension during pregnancy were studied: the follow-up covered an extremely long period (up to a maximum age of 15) to see if, in time, problems related to blood pressure, growth or of a neurological nature would arise. The results have shown that only weight problems exist, with 21.7% of the subjects being obese, a percentage which is, however, similar to that found among students of the same age group in a Roman school in the same area. It is important to point out the lack of cases of hypertension among these children, (which is probably due to the dietary advice given to them) all of whom have family hypertension and neurological history (taking into consideration that 34.7% were premature). We conclude by emphasizing the importance of long term paediatric follow-up which allows us to be optimistic towards the maternal pathology in as much suitably treated.

[Monitoring arterial pressure for 15 minutes of 201 healthy neonatal subjects with a family history of arterial hypertension]. / Monitoraggio per 15 minuti della pressione arteriosa neonatale in 201 soggetti sani, con e senza familiarit per ipertensione arteriosa.

Two groups of healthy children, born on time, have been studied: 96 affected by familiarity with arterial hypertension and 105 not affected. Each baby has been recorded sex, weight, height, and the type of delivery. During their first three days of life the babies have been subjected to monitoring of the arterial pressure through an automatic oscillometric Air Shields apparatus with a 3.5 cm height bangle. We have recorded the systolic pressure, the medium, the diastolic and the heart frequency for 15 minutes in succession with 1 minute intervals, during daily hours. The babies of the two groups have shown in percentage a superimposable average weight, height, sex and the type of delivery. Even the arterial pressure, either systolic or diastolic, and the heart frequency have not shown significant differences. On the contrary the cases of hypertension (systolic pressure higher than 90 mmHg) within the two groups have shown significant statistic differences with a larger number of picks of hypertension among babies with familiarity, to indicate a greater unsteadiness of the pressure among them. Also the number of the scanned subjects affected by hypertension is significantly and statistically greater among babies with relatives who have been affected by hypertension. In conclusion the familiarity with arterial hypertension "affects" already at the neonatal age.

[The nutritional aspects and incidence of obesity and hypertension in a groups of Roman adolescents]. / Aspetti nutrizionali ed incidenza di obesità ed ipertensione in un gruppo di adolescenti romani.

Two-hundred-thirty teenagers of a Roman liceo (specializing in classical studies) have been checked with particular regard to growth, pressure and feeding. The diet of teenagers proved to be particularly unbalanced from the qualitative point of view. There is an excessive intake of fats especially to the detriment of carbohydrates and starches. The incidence of obesity (6.9%) and of hypertension (6%) is not particularly high, probably due to the fact that youngsters at this age "look at themselves in the mirror a lot" for the first case and the second one can be considered as a direct consequence of the first.