ABSTRACT
AIM: High-quality national representative data on obesity in Romanian children are needed to shape public health policies. To provide a unified data landscape on national prevalence, trends and other factors associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity in Romanian children aged 6-19 years, across the last decade (2006-2015). METHODS: Using a common protocol, we selected published and unpublished studies that measured Romanian children in schools between 2006 and 2015. Children's BMI was classified using the current WHO, IOTF, and CDC references. RESULTS: 25,060 children from 8 Romanian counties were included in the analysis. The prevalence of underweight children was 5%/4.5%/8.5% (WHO/IOTF/CDC), while the prevalence of overweight (including obese) children was 28.3%/23%/23.2% (WHO/IOTF/CDC). The prevalence of overweight children did not change significantly over the last decade (chi-square test p = 0.6). Male gender (odds ratio (OR) 1.37; 95% CI 1.29-1.45, compared to female); prepubertal age (OR = 3.86; 95% CI 3.41-4.36,compared to postpubertal age), and urban environment (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.01-1.26, compared to rural environment) had higher risk for overweight. CONCLUSION: While the prevalence of underweight children was low, almost one in four children in Romania was overweight or obese (according to WHO criteria) between 2006 and 2015. This prevalence remained relatively stable over the last decade. Male gender, prepubertal age, and urban environment, were the most relevant risk factors associated with overweight status in Romanian children.
Subject(s)
Overweight/epidemiology , Thinness/epidemiology , Adolescent , Body Mass Index , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Environment , Ethnicity , Female , Humans , Male , Obesity/epidemiology , Odds Ratio , Public Policy , Risk Factors , Romania/epidemiology , Rural Population , Schools , Social Environment , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Asthma exacerbation's severity is difficult to evaluate, as it is mainly assessed by clinical parameters. Evaluation of lung function during the acute asthma might provide an objective assessment on the severity of respiratory function impairment. OBJECTIVE: To determine feasibility of interrupter technique in evaluating respiratory resistance (Rocc) on children with acute asthmaMethods: The study included 30 children aged 3 to 14 years, diagnosed with asthma, during an exacerbation; severity of acute asthma has been assessed according to the GINA classification 2007, evaluating individual parameters like intercostals retractions, wheezing, air entry intensity, as well as their association in a clinical score. For every patient spirometry, peakflowmetry and the interrupter technique was applied for assessing respiratory function. The feasibility rate for each method was calculated and compared with the clinical parameters. RESULTS: Out of the 30 children examined, the feasibility rate during the attack was 90% for the interrupter technique, 47% for peakflowmetry and only 27% for spirometry. Fifty-three percent of the exacerbations were classified as mild, 30% of moderate intensity and the remaining 37% being classified as severe exacerbations. The baseline Rocc has been correlated with clinical parameters and the clinical severity score. Best correlations were recorded between baseline Rocc and respiratory rate (r=0.73, p<0.0001), Rocc and heart rate (r=0.5, p=0.0076) and Rocc and the clinical score (r= 0.78, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: The study shows good feasibility of interrupter technique during asthma exacerbations, as well as strong correlation with clinical parameters assessing severity.
