Adoption of the children's obesity clinic's treatment (TCOCT) protocol into another Danish pediatric obesity treatment clinic.

BACKGROUND: Treating severe childhood obesity has proven difficult with inconsistent treatment results. This study reports the results of the implementation of a childhood obesity chronic care treatment protocol. METHODS: Patients aged 5 to 18 years with a body mass index (BMI) above the 99th percentile for sex and age were eligible for inclusion. At baseline patients' height, weight, and tanner stages were measured, as well as parents' socioeconomic status (SES) and family structure. Parental weight and height were self-reported. An individualised treatment plan including numerous advices was developed in collaboration with the patient and the family. Patients' height and weight were measured at subsequent visits. There were no exclusion criteria. RESULTS: Three-hundred-thirteen (141 boys) were seen in the clinic in the period of February 2010 to March 2013. At inclusion, the median age of patients was 11.1 years and the median BMI standard deviation score (SDS) was 3.24 in boys and 2.85 in girls. After 1 year of treatment, the mean BMI SDS difference was -0.30 (95% CI: -0.39; -0.21, p < 0.0001) in boys and -0.19 (95% CI: -0.25; -0.13, p < 0.0001) in girls. After 2 years of treatment, the mean BMI SDS difference was -0.40 (95% CI: -0.56; -0.25, p < 0.0001) in boys and -0.24 (95% CI: -0.33; -0.15, p < 0.0001) in girls. During intervention 120 patients stopped treatment. Retention rates were 0.76 (95% CI: 0.71; 0.81) after one year and 0.57 (95% CI: 0.51; 0.63) after two years of treatment. Risk of dropout was independent of baseline characteristics. Median time spent by health care professionals was 4.5 hours per year per patient and the mean visit interval time was 2.7 months. The reductions in BMI SDS were dependent on gender, parental BMI, and family structure in girls, but independent of baseline BMI SDS, age, co-morbidity, SES, pubertal stage, place of referral, hours of treatment per year, and mean visit interval time. CONCLUSIONS: The systematic use of the TCOCT protocol reduced the degree of childhood obesity with acceptable retention rates with a modest time-investment by health professionals.

Childhood suicide attempts with acetaminophen in Denmark: characteristics, social behaviour, trends and risk factors.

AIMS: To explore: (1) The relationship between children admitted to our paediatric department as a result of suicide attempts with acetaminophen and their parents and friends. (2) The extent to which the children had attempted to speak to their parents about their problems before their suicide attempts. (3) The frequency of self-mutilation among children with suicidal behaviour. (4) The purposes and reasons for childhood suicide attempts. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study based on medical records and in-hospital child psychiatric assessments at the Paediatric Department, Hillerød Hospital, Denmark, 2006-2011. STUDY GROUP: 107 children, 11 to 15 years old. CONTROL GROUP: 59 age- and gender-matched children. RESULTS: 43.5% experienced a dissociated parental relationship characterized by the inability to speak to their parents about any problems, compared with 2% in the control group. There was a significant association between a dissociated parental relationship and 'the feeling of not being heard' (p = 0.004), the discovery of the suicide attempt (p = 0.008), the reasons for the suicide attempt (p = 0.006), academic school problems (p = 0.03), and the child's relationships with friends (p = 0.02). Prior to their suicide attempts, 41.5% of the children had attempted to speak to their parents about their problems but felt that they were not heard. There was a significant association among 'the feeling of not being heard' and the purpose of the suicide attempt (p = 0.002) and self-mutilation (p = 0.002). Forty percent mutilated themselves repeatedly. CONCLUSIONS: A consistently impaired parent-child relationship, 'the feeling of not being heard', and self-mutilation are identifiable early risk factors that require increased concern and attention among professionals who work with children.