Relationship between pediatric adiposity and cardiovascular risk factors in Saudi children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The etiology of childhood obesity is growing at alarming rates in developed and developing countries. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia) in a sample of Saudi children and to assess their association with different measures of body adiposity. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 200 Saudi children, who were randomly selected from the pediatric clinics at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Anthropometric variables were measured for all study subjects. Fasting blood samples were collected for measurement of blood glucose, insulin, and lipid profile. RESULTS: Almost half of the study population was overweight and one tenth was obese according to body mass index levels, irrespective of sex. The prevalence of central obesity was higher using the waist-height ratio as opposed to waist circumference and this was true for both sexes. Significantly higher means levels of glucose, insulin, and lipids (P<0.0001 in all) were seen among overweight and obese children than their lean counterparts. All obesity measures in children were significantly associated with cardiovascular risk factors. CONCLUSION: The severity of overall and abdominal obesity in Saudi children is associated with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, with the relationship strength varying by sex.

Is there a role for automated eosinophil count in asthma severity assessment?

Advances in asthma clinical assessment help in categorizing patients based on their clinical severity. Eosinophilia is a common laboratory finding in asthmatics. This paper explores the correlation between the clinical severity of asthmatic children and the degree of total peripheral eosinophil count (TPEC). Eighty asthmatic children referred to pediatric and allergy clinics were selected. Their clinical severity levels were assessed using the recent Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention guidelines. Absolute TPEC was performed for all cases by the Cell-Dyne 3500 automated hematology counter. Correlation between clinical severity and TPEC was measured and their means in each severity group were compared for any significant association. Asthmatic children aged between 6 months and 15 years (mean = 5.9 years; 67.5% male) were studied. The clinical severity of their bronchial asthma was divided into four groups: intermittent (6, or 7.5%), mild-persistent (48, or 60%), moderate persistent (20, or 25%), and severe-persistent (6, or 7.5%). TPEC for the groups ranged between 10 and 2100 cells/mm3 (mean = 581.7 cells) and showed a very significant positive correlation with increased asthma severity (R = 0.61, p<0.001). A high linear trend of TPEC within each clinical group was found (F = 51.3, p<0.0001), and the means among each group also showed a significant increase as asthma severity level increased (F = 19.98, p<0.001). The study documents a significant positive correlation between the clinical severity of bronchial asthma and eosinophil counts. The authors advocate the use of this simple and sensitive laboratory test as a significant adjunct objective technique in the assessment of asthma severity and management.

Automated eosinophilia: A marker for asthma severity. Is it a gauge for anti-inflammatory therapy?

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