Determinants of Weight Disorders in Two- Year- Old Children in Isfahan, Iran.

Background: Considering the importance of weight disorders in childhood and its impact until adulthood, this study was conducted to assess the determinants of weight disorders in 2-year-old Iranian children. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 among on 2300 children registered in Comprehensive Health Centers of Isfahan, Iran. Weight disorders, including underweight and overweight were defined according to the standardized National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/Centers for Disease Control (CDC) growth charts. Demographic data including gender, birth weight, maternal educational levels and occupation, duration of breastfeeding and the age of beginning complementary food were gathered. Results: In the present study, 750 children (i.e., 32.6%) had weight disorders. Among them, 53.6% were underweight, 26.3% were overweight, and 12.9% were obese, 7.2%had severe underweight. Female gender, university education of mothers and higher levels of socio-economic status significantly increased the chance of overweight by 14.79%, 22.28%, 27.33% and 24.48%, respectively. Although with the increase in the duration of breastfeeding and the increase of family members, overweight, respectively, decreased by 0.86 and 0.93 fold, but it was not statistically significant. There was an inverse, significant relationship between the duration of breastfeeding with overweight versus underweight. Conclusion: Underweight and overweight were the two most common weight disorders among 2-year- children, respectively. Control of modifiable risk factors for weight disorders in early life should be underscored in the primary health care system.

Is CKD Screening Program Necessary in Developing Countries?

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of congenital anomaly of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) and related chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be increased in countries with higher rate of consanguineous marriage. Therefore, we evaluated the prevalence of CKD by biochemical and kidney ultrasound measurements in the firstgrade pupils. METHODS: This cross -sectional study was carried on children aged 6 to 7 years. Urine analysis, serum creatinine, urine microalbumin to creatinine ratio and kidney ultrasound have been evaluated for participants. RESULTS: 653 children were recruited to the study. Stage 1 and stage 2 systolic hypertension have been found in 6.5 and 1%, respectively. The percentage of stage 1 and stage 2 diastolic hypertension were 1.3 and 0.3%, respectively. Both weight Z-score and waist Z-score had positive correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Microalbuminuria (in 2.5%) did not have any correlation with the following factors: hypertension, body mass index, microscopic hematuria, glomerular filtration rate, kidney sonographic abnormalities or kidney parenchymal thickness and family history of kidney transplantation. GFR less than 90 mL/ min /1.73 m2 has been detected in 1.8% of the students. Only 1.7% had urine RBC more than 5 in each high-power field (hpf). Approximately 1.5% had anatomical abnormality of kidney and urinary tract (hydronephrosis or hydroureter). CONCLUSION: Considering the higher prevalence of elevated blood pressure and microalbuminuria in Iranian children, a CKD screening program based on evaluating microalbuminuria and blood pressure measurement is needed. However, irrespective of high prevalence of consanguineous marriage in Iran, using kidney ultrasound as a screening tool has not been recommended.  DOI: 10.52547/ijkd.7306.

The Assessment of Neonatal Anthropometric Indices Association with Umbilical Cord Blood Zinc and Magnesium Levels.

Background: The present research aims to find the association between neonatal anthropometric parameters and zinc and magnesium concentration in cord blood. Materials and Methods: The current cross-sectional report is a sub-study from the "PERSIAN Birth Cohort Study" conducted on 112 pairs of mother-neonate referring to the index hospitals for giving birth to their children during 2018-19. Umbilical cord blood was collected at delivery for the measurement of zinc and magnesium. Anthropometric indices were measured in standard protocols. Validated questionnaires were used for maternal diet in different trimesters. Dietary patterns were acquired based on exploratory factor analysis. Results: The birth weight was reversely correlated with zinc concentration (r = -0.249, P-value = 0.008); however, the other anthropometric parameters did not show any association with zinc levels (P-value > 0.05). Similar evaluations for magnesium revealed no association between any of the anthropometric indices and this micronutrient agent (P-value > 0.05). Further evaluations represented insignificant differences in both zinc (P-value = 0.51) and magnesium levels (P-value = 0.49) between those with normal versus low birth weight. There was a negative association between the Western dietary pattern in the first trimester of pregnancy and cord blood zinc concentration (ß (SE) = -0.21 (0.10); P = 0.026); while healthy and traditional dietary patterns in second and third trimesters were positively related to cord zinc concentration (all P < 0.05). Conclusion: This research did not document a positive statistical association of cord blood zinc and magnesium with birth weight. The association of maternal Western dietary patterns with lower cord blood zinc levels highlights the importance of healthy nutritional habits in pregnancy.

Association of early life factors with dyslipidemia in children and adolescents: The CASPIAN-V study.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between prenatal/infancy factors and lipid profile in children and adolescents. Methods: This multicentric national study was conducted in 30 provinces in Iran. It comprised 4200 participants, aged 7-18 years, from the fifth survey of a national surveillance program. History regarding birth weight, as well as the type of consumed milk and food during infancy was obtained from parents. In addition to physical examinations, fasting blood samples were obtained to assess the lipid profile of these students. Results: Data from 3844 participants were available (91.5% participation rate), 52.4 % of students were boys. Mean (SD) age of participants was 12.3(3.2) years. Consuming cow milk in the first two years significantly increased the risk of high triglycerides (TG) (odds ratio [OR]:2.77, 95% CI: 1.32-5.85, P: 0.01), elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P<0.05) and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (P <0.05). Students who had consumed commercially made food as complementary feeding were 93% more likely to have high LDL (OR: 1.93, 95% CI=1.19-3.13, P: 0.01) and 90% more likely to have high TG than students who had consumed homemade food (OR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.15-3.12, P: 0.01). The aforementioned figures were not significantly associated with an elevated total cholesterol (TC) level. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the history of using human milk and home-made food as complementary feeding was associated with better lipid profile in childhood and early adolescence. Increasing public knowledge in this regard might be useful for encouragement of healthier life prevention of chronic diseases.

Association between family dinner frequency and mental health in children and adolescents; the CASPIAN-V study.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 14,400 Iranian students, aged 7-18 years to determine the association between the frequency of family dinner and mental health. Family dinner frequency, family relationship, life satisfaction (LS), self-perceived health and anxiety were assessed by validated questionnaires. Of 14,274 participants, 50.6% were boys and 71.4% were urban residents, with a mean (SD) age of 12.28 (3.16) years. Family dinner frequency was significantly correlated with LS (boys: ß = 0.27, p < .001; girls: ß = 0.26, p < .001) and socio-economic status (boys: ß = 0.05, p < .001; girls: ß = 0.02, p < .001). A significant inverse association was observed between family dinner frequency and family relationship with anxiety, which was more evident in boys than in girls (p < .05). This study underscores the important role of family dinner frequency with lower anxiety in children as well as a better family relationship with better LS.