ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Although breastfeeding has been suggested as a candidate for the prevention of obesity and allergies, recent studies have reported mixed results. The aim of the study was (1) to assess breastfeeding length in obese children or children with allergic diseases compared to healthy children; (2) to evaluate the impact of the duration of breastfeeding on the incidence of obesity, allergy rhinitis and asthma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 408 children were evaluated (mean age 11.9±3.7 years; M/F 220/188) and divided into three groups (Obesity, n=103; Allergy, n=163; and Healthy, n=142). Breastfeeding history was collected during an interview. Physical examination, anthropometry, allergy (skin prick test with aeroallergens; Allergopharma) and a spirometry (Jaeger) assessment were performed in each participant. RESULTS: Most of the children (75%) were breastfed with a mean duration of 7.5 months (range 0-36; SD=7.9 months). The time of breastfeeding was longer in the healthy compared to the obese and allergic groups (p=0.003) and was correlated with BMI centile in all groups of subjects (R Spearman = -0.2, p<0.05). There was a higher number of subjects with hypersensitivity to the allergen of house dust mites and animals in the non-breastfed compared to the breastfed children (p<0.003, p<0.000, respectively). Non-breastfed children compared to the breastfed presented more often asthma (chi2=3.6 df=1 p=0.05), but not allergic rhinitis (chi2=9.0 df=1 p=0.002). Non-breastfed asthmatics, compared to the breastfed asthmatics, presented a significantly higher severity of asthma (OR=0.43; p=0.008). In multivariate regression models, a short breastfeeding time was associated with a higher risk of both obesity and asthma. CONCLUSIONS: School-age children with obesity and asthma were breastfed less often and for a shorter duration than their healthy peers. Longer breastfeeding may result in a reduced number of children with obesity, asthma, and allergy to house dust mites, but further investigation is needed on a larger population of school-age children.
Subject(s)
Asthma , Pediatric Obesity , Rhinitis, Allergic , Allergens , Animals , Asthma/epidemiology , Asthma/etiology , Breast Feeding , Child , Female , Humans , Pyroglyphidae , Rhinitis, Allergic/complicationsABSTRACT
A set of five experimental tests was prepared for the assessment of language disturbances in right hemisphere-damaged (RHD) patients. The Right Hemisphere Language Battery by Bryan (1995) was a basis for these tests. The set comprises the Metaphor Picture Test, the Written Metaphor Test, the Inferential Meaning Test, the Humour Test and the Lexical Semantic Test. Thirty-six RHD, 15 left hemisphere damaged (LHD) without aphasia and 30 control (C) subjects took part in the investigation. All test significantly differed between the RHD and C groups. No significant differences were noted between LHD and control groups, except for the Inferential Meaning Test. The quantitative performance of tests was different in all the groups. Results of the study indicated patients with right frontal damages to make more errors than those with right posterior lesions.
