Prevalence Of Children Research Articles

Evaluation of Prevalence and Risk Factors of Dental Caries: Cross Sectional Study

Oral health in the nation’s evolution, especially in this globalization, an absence of illness in the population plays a key role for a fecund and well established society. Purpose: To find the prevalence of dental caries along-with the risk factors related to them in rural children of District Kasur. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Methodology: Children (n=383) were included in present study through non-probability, convenient sampling technique. Children who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were examined with the examination tools on the dental unit office in the RHC for caries risk using a pre-validated caries risk assessment checklist and Dental Caries detection form. Statistical analysis: Data analyzed by SPSS 21.0v. Results: There are 83 (22%) male and 300 (78%) females in the present study. The respondents of age 7 and over with active and smooth surface caries 383 (100%). The DMFT status for respondents with age 7-10 was 26.4% , age 11-13 was 53.5% , age 14-15 with was 18.8%. Overall dental caries risk in the participants while categorizing them on the basis of high risk i.e. 55.6% , moderate risk i.e. 42% and low risk i.e. 2.3%. Conclusion: This study concluded that caries are present in the form of tooth decay, molars, plaque, lesions, cavities, and gingivitis. The dental problems can be prevented with cleaning teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. Key Words: Early Childhood Caries, Risk Assessment, Prevalence and Oral Hygiene.

Dietary Sugar Intake and Its Association with Obesity in Children and Adolescents.

Sugar intake has been associated with increased prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity; however, results remain controversial. The aim of this study was to examine the probability of overweight/obesity with higher sugar intakes, accounting for other dietary intakes. Data from 1165 children and adolescents aged ≥2–18 years (66.8% males) enrolled in the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS) were used; specifically, 781 children aged 2–11 years and 384 adolescents 12–18 years. Total and added sugar intake were assessed using two 24 h recalls (24 hR). Foods were categorized into specific food groups to evaluate the main foods contributing to intakes. A significant proportion of children (18.7%) and adolescents (24.5%) exceeded the recommended cut-off of 10% of total energy intake from added sugars. Sweets (29.8%) and processed/refined grains and cereals (19.1%) were the main sources of added sugars in both age groups, while in adolescents, the third main contributor was sugar-sweetened beverages (20.6%). Being overweight or obese was 2.57 (p = 0.002) and 1.77 (p = 0.047) times more likely for intakes ≥10% of total energy from added sugars compared to less <10%, when accounting for food groups and macronutrient intakes, respectively. The predicted probability of becoming obese was also significant with higher total and added-sugar consumption. We conclude that high consumption of added sugars increased the probability for overweight/obesity among youth, irrespectively of other dietary or macronutrient intakes.

Differential Diagnosis and Treatment of Itching in Children and Adolescents.

Itching is prevalent in children with skin disorders and associated with effects on their mood, quality of life, and social functioning. Surprisingly, there are no data on childhood prevalence of pruritus in the general population. The aim of this article is to explore the epidemiology, clinical manifestation, and treatment for itch (pruritus) in the pediatric population (from infancy to adolescence), and to be helpful to primary care physicians who assess and diagnose pediatric patients with itching. In this study, we searched for specific keywords using PubMed and MEDLINE (Ovid) and, then, refined the retrieved searches for each cause and treatment. As a result of reviewing the literature, atopic dermatitis was shown to be the most common cause of itching, especially during infancy and through preschool. Not only skin disorders but also systemic diseases, drugs, and postburn states can predispose an individual to itching in childhood. There are traditional and newly developed treatment modalities for itching in pediatric patients. However, because the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of childhood are different from those of adults, the medications for itching have to be applied carefully for these age groups. There are many areas to be elucidated regarding the prevalence and objective assessment of pruritus in pediatric patients. Moreover, the safety profiles of medications in the pediatric population need to be better understood. Further studies to investigate itching in childhood are warranted.

Changing trends in the prevalence of childhood asthma over 40 years in Greece.

A series of repeated questionnaire surveys among 8- to9-year-old school children in the city of Patras, Greece, demonstrated a continuous rise in the prevalence of wheeze/asthma from 1978 to 2003, with a plateau between 2003 and 2008. We further investigated wheeze/asthma trends within the same environment over the last decade. Two follow-up surveys were conducted in 2013 (N = 2554) and 2018 (N = 2648). Physician-diagnosed wheeze and asthma were analyzed in relation to their occurrence (recent-onset: within the last 2 years; noncurrent: before 2 years; persistent: both prior and within the last 2 years). In 2018, spirometry was also performed in participants reporting symptoms and in a sample of healthy controls. The prevalence of current wheeze/asthma declined from 6.9% in 2008% to 5.2% in 2013% and 4.3% in 2018. The persistent and noncurrent wheeze/asthma groups followed this overall trend (P-for-trend <0.001), while the prevalence of recent-onset wheeze/asthma remained unchanged (P-for-trend >0.05). Persistent and noncurrent wheezers were also more frequently diagnosed with asthma, in contrast to those with recent-onset wheeze. The FEV1 z-score was less than -1 in 32.1% of children with recent-onset and in 22.4% of those with persistent wheeze/asthma; both rates were higher than those of the Noncurrent wheeze/asthma group (7.1%; p < .05) and of healthy controls (3.5%; p < .001). The prevalence of childhood wheeze/asthma has declined significantly during the last decade in Greece. The reversing trend may in part be attributed to changing asthma perceptions among physicians and/or parents, especially in the case of younger children with troublesome respiratory symptoms.

Incidence of childhood injuries and modifiable household risk factors in rural Ghana: a multistage, cluster-randomised, population-based, household survey

ObjectiveWe aimed to describe the incidence of childhood household injuries and prevalence of modifiable household risk factors in rural Ghana to inform prevention initiatives.Setting357 randomly selected households in rural Ghana.ParticipantsCaregivers...

Socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity among 6- to 9-year-old children in 24 countries from the World Health Organization European region.

Childhood overweight and obesity have significant short- and long-term negative impacts on children's health and well-being. These challenges are unequally distributed according to socioeconomic status (SES); however, previous studies have often lacked standardized and objectively measured data across national contexts to assess these differences. This study provides a cross-sectional picture of the association between SES and childhood overweight and obesity, based on data from 123,487 children aged 6-9years in 24 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European region. Overall, associations were found between overweight/obesity and the three SES indicators used (parental education, parental employment status, and family-perceived wealth). Our results showed an inverse relationship between the prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity and parental education in high-income countries, whereas the opposite relationship was observed in most of the middle-income countries. The same applied to family-perceived wealth, although parental employment status appeared to be less associated with overweight and obesity or not associated at all. This paper highlights the need for close attention to context when designing interventions, as the association between SES and childhood overweight and obesity varies by country economic development. Population-based interventions have an important role to play, but policies that target specific SES groups are also needed to address inequalities.

Impact of cuts to local government spending on Sure Start children’s centres on childhood obesity in England: a longitudinal ecological study

BackgroundChildhood obesity is rising in disadvantaged areas in England. Sure Start children’s centres provide community-based services for children <5 years and their parents, including many services that can support healthy...

Incidence and Prevalence of Children's Diffuse Lung Disease in Spain

BackgroundChildren's diffuse lung disease, also known as children's Interstitial Lung Diseases (chILD), are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases with relevant morbidity and mortality, which diagnosis and classification are very complex. Epidemiological data are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse incidence and prevalence of chILD in Spain. MethodsMulticentre observational prospective study in patients from 0 to 18 years of age with chILD to analyse its incidence and prevalence in Spain, based on data reported in 2018 and 2019. ResultsA total of 381 cases with chILD were notified from 51 paediatric pulmonology units all over Spain, covering the 91.7% of the paediatric population. The average incidence of chILD was 8.18 (CI 95% 6.28–10.48) new cases/million of children per year. The average prevalence of chILD was 46.53 (CI 95% 41.81–51.62) cases/million of children. The age group with the highest prevalence were children under 1 year of age. Different types of disorders were seen in children 2–18 years of age compared with children 0–2 years of age. Most frequent cases were: primary pulmonary interstitial glycogenosis in neonates (17/65), neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy in infants from 1 to 12 months (44/144), idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis in children from 1 to 5 years old (13/74), hypersensitivity pneumonitis in children from 5 to 10 years old (9/51), and scleroderma in older than 10 years old (8/47). ConclusionsWe found a higher incidence and prevalence of chILD than previously described probably due to greater understanding and increased clinician awareness of these rare diseases.

Use of the Whole Country Insulin Consumption Data in Israel to Determine the Prevalence of Type 1 Diabetes in Children

Recent studies showed that rotavirus vaccination may affect the prevalence of type 1 diabetes (T1D). The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of early childhood (<5 years) T1D before and during the introduction of rotavirus vaccination in Israel by syndromic surveillance. Data on insulin purchases reported by Israel's four Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) were retrieved from the National Program for Quality Indicators in Community Healthcare. During the prevaccination years (2002-2007), a steady increase in insulin purchases was reported in the young (<5 years). The period percent change (PC) of children <5 years old diagnosed with T1D inferred from purchased insulin prescriptions increased by 50.0%, and the annual percent change (APC) increased by 10.0% (p = 0.01). During the period of free, universal Rotavirus vaccination (2011-2018), the PC for T1D diagnoses among children <5 years of age decreased by 3.8% with an APC of -2.5% (p = 0.14). There was a significant difference (p = 0.002) between the increasing trend in insulin use before vaccination versus the decreasing trend after vaccination. Rotavirus vaccination correlated with attenuation of the increasing rate in the prevalence of T1D in <5-year-old children in Israel.

Frequency and impact of childhood sexual and physical abuse on people using IAPT services.

This study explored the prevalence of childhood sexual/physical abuse (CSA/CPA) as identified by practitioners in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services and clarified differences in clients' characteristics with and without a history of CSA/CPA. A retrospective analysis of a large dataset comprised of IAPT routine data and data from a local service evaluation reporting on clients' presenting problems. 14% of IAPT clients (n=1,315) were identified with a record of CSA/CPA. CSA/CPA history was associated with longer duration and earlier age of onset of condition(s), greater number of presenting problems and post-traumatic stress disorder co-occurrence, higher intensity treatment delivery, and lower recovery rates. CSA/CPA history appears as an important feature in a sizable minority of IAPT clients; further work is required to meet clients' trauma-related needs. A sizable minority of IAPT clients (14%) present with a history of CSA/CPA as recorded in clinical notes. CSA/CPA history is associated with more complex and enduring presentations in IAPT clients. The reported CSA/CPA frequency is likely to be underestimates of the actual prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences in IAPT clients. Trauma-informed inquiry and trauma-specific screening tools would help practitioners to meet clients' trauma-related needs.

Childhood obesity prevention policies in Iran: a policy analysis of agenda-setting using Kingdon\u2019s multiple streams

BackgroundPediatric obesity is one of the most important health challenges of the twenty-first century. Primary prevention of childhood obesity, can lessen its consequences. This study aims to assess childhood obesity prevention policies in Iran through a policy analysis of agenda-setting using Kingdon’s multiple streams.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted using in-depth interviews with 39 key informants and document review from different stages of the policymaking process of childhood and adolescent obesity prevention programs in Iran. The analysis of documents and interviews were guided based on Kingdon’s multiple streams (problem, policy and political streams).ResultsThe important factors of the problem stream were the high prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity and its risk factors in Iran. In the policy stream, a focus on preventing non-communicable diseases in the health system, increasing the workforce in health centers, promoting health school programs, and creating healthy eating buffets in schools was identified. Under the political stream, the impact of the WHO ECHO program in 2015 and the implementation of the health system transformation plan in Iran in the new government took place after 2013, caused the Iran ECHO program entered the agenda and implemented from 2016.ConclusionsNow that a window of opportunity for childhood and adolescent obesity prevention policymaking has been created, the problems such as the therapeutic approach in the health system, the existence of sanctions against Iran and outbreak of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), have hindered the successful implementation of this policy and the opportunity window has not been well used. However, actors need political support from the high levels of government to keep this policy on the agenda.

Adolescent and Childhood Obesity and Excess Morbidity and Mortality in Young Adulthood-a Systematic Review.

Rates of childhood obesity have been soaring in recent decades. The association between obesity in adulthood and excess morbidity and mortality has been readily established, whereas the association of childhood and adolescent obesity has not. The purpose of this review is to summarize existing data regarding the association of the presence of obesity in childhood/adolescence and early-onset adverse outcomes in adulthood, with specific focus on young adults under the age of 45 years. Diabetes, cancer, and cardiometabolic outcomes in midlife are closely linked to childhood and adolescent obesity. Childhood and adolescent obesity confer major risks of excess and premature morbidity and mortality, which may be evident before age 30 years in both sexes. The scientific literature is mixed regarding the independent risk of illness, which may be attributed to childhood BMI regardless of adult BMI, and additional data is required to establish causality between the two. Nonetheless, the increasing prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity may impose an increase of disease burden in midlife, emphasizing the need for effective interventions to be implemented at a young age.

Artificial Intelligence Approach for Analyzing Anaemia Prevalence in Children and Adolescents in BRICS Countries: A Review

Anemia prevalence, especially among children and adolescents, is a serious public health burden in the BRICS countries. This article gives an overview of the current anaemia status in children and adolescents in three BRICS countries, as part of a study that utilizes an artificial intelligence approach for analyzing anaemia prevalence in children and adolescents in South Africa, India and Russia. It posits that the use of machine learning in this area of health research is still novel. The weightage assessment of the crosslink between anaemia risk indicators using a machine learning approach will assist policy makers in identifying the areas of priority to intervene in the BRICS participating countries. Health interventions utilizing artificial intelligence and more specifically, machine learning techniques, remains nascent in LMICs but could lead to improved health outcomes.

Comparison of childhood household injuries and risk factors between urban and rural communities in Ghana: A cluster-randomized, population-based, survey to inform injury prevention research and programming

BackgroundChildhood household injuries incur a major proportion of the global disease burden, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, household injury hazards are differentially distributed across developed environments. Therefore, we aimed to compare incidence of childhood household injuries and prevalence of risk factors between communities in urban and rural Ghana to inform prevention initiatives. MethodsData from urban and a rural cluster-randomized, population-based surveys of caregivers of children <5 years in Ghana were combined. In both studies, caregivers were interviewed about childhood injuries that occurred within the past 6 months and 200 meters of the home that resulted in missed school/work, hospitalization, and/or death. Sampling weights were applied, injuries and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were described, and multi-level regression was used to identify and compare risk factors. ResultsWe sampled 200 urban and 357 rural households that represented 20,575 children in Asawase and 14,032 children in Amakom, Ghana, respectively. There were 143 and 351 injuries in our urban and rural samples, which equated to 594 and 542 injuries per 1,000 child-years, respectively (IRR 1.09, 95%CI 1.05-1.14). Toddler-aged children had the highest odds of injury both urban and rural communities (OR 3.77 vs 3.17, 95%CI 1.34-10.55 vs 1.86-5.42 compared to infants, respectively). Urban children were more commonly injured by falling (IRR 1.50, 95%CI 1.41-1.60), but less commonly injured by flame/hot substances (IRR 0.51, 95%CI 0.44-0.59), violence (IRR 0.41, 95%CI 0.36-0.48), or motor vehicle (IRR 0.50, 95%CI 0.39-0.63). Rural households that cooked outside of the home (OR 0.36, 95%CI 0.22-0.60) and that also supervised older children (OR 0.33, 95%CI 0.17-0.62) had lower odds of childhood injuries than those that did not. ConclusionsChildhood injuries were similarly common in both urban and rural Ghana, but with different patterns of mechanisms and risk factors that must be taken into account when planning prevention strategies. However, the data suggest that several interventions could be effective, including: community-based, multi-strategy initiatives (e.g., home hazard reduction, provision of safety equipment, establishing community creches); traffic calming interventions in rural community clusters; and passive injury surveillance systems that collect data to inform violence and broader prevention strategies.

Control and Elimination of Schistosomiasis as a Public Health Problem: Thresholds Fail to Differentiate Schistosomiasis Morbidity Prevalence in Children.

BackgroundCurrent World Health Organization guidelines utilize prevalence of heavy-intensity infections (PHIs), that is, ≥50 eggs per 10 mL of urine for Schistosoma haematobium and ≥400 eggs per gram of stool for S. mansoni, to determine whether a targeted area has controlled schistosomiasis morbidity or eliminated schistosomiasis as a public health problem. The relationship between these PHI categories and morbidity is not well understood.MethodsSchool-age participants enrolled in schistosomiasis monitoring and evaluation cohorts from 2003 to 2008 in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia were surveyed for infection and morbidity at baseline and after 1 and 2 rounds of preventive chemotherapy. Logistic regression was used to compare morbidity prevalence among participants based on their school’s PHI category.ResultsMicrohematuria levels were associated with the S. haematobium PHI categories at all 3 time points. For any other S. haematobium or S. mansoni morbidity that was measured, PHI categories did not differentiate morbidity prevalence levels consistently.ConclusionsThese analyses suggest that current PHI categorizations do not differentiate the prevalence of standard morbidity markers. A reevaluation of the criteria for schistosomiasis control is warranted.

EP146 - Childhood prevalence of achondroplasia in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia

eP146 - Childhood prevalence of achondroplasia in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia

Autism as a Global Challenge: Examining the Increased Childhood Prevalence of Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a spectrum of conditions that are generally characterized by language deficits, restricted interests, social communication impairments, motor deficits, and repetitive behaviours. This paper examined the increased childhood prevalence of autism globally by analyzing studies conducted in specific countries through three underlying research aims. The aims are to determine the prevalence and diagnostic criteria of ASD within countries, to find out the international explanations for the increased prevalence of ASD, and to establish the extent of epidemiological consistencies between countries. Although the findings generally paint a picture of an increased ASD prevalence, researchers fail to agree on the reasons for this. Several countries that do not report this increase attribute the inconsistency to a lack of reliable studies. Further research is necessary to establish the link between cultural behaviours and beliefs to the prevalence rates, and also to provide a substantiated and definitive etiology of ASD.

An immune window of opportunity to prevent childhood B cell leukemia

The prevalence of childhood B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is increasing, particularly in developed countries. There is no clear explanation for this increment, but recent data suggest that, besides genetic predisposition, stress in the immune system (e.g., an infection) might have an important role in B-ALL leukemogenesis. Here, we speculate on how this knowledge might impact B-ALL prevention strategies.

Pregnancy weight gain in twin gestations and maternal and child health outcomes at 5 years.

Objective:Current guidelines for maternal weight gain in twin pregnancy were established in the absence of evidence on its longer-term consequences for maternal and child health. We evaluated the association between weight gain in twin pregnancies and the risk of excess maternal postpartum weight increase, childhood obesity, and child cognitive ability.Methods:We used 5-year follow-up data from 1000 twins born to 450 mothers in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort, a nationally representative U.S. cohort of births in 2001. Pregnancy weight gain was standardized into gestational age- and prepregnancy body mass index (BMI)-specific z-scores. Excess postpartum weight increase was defined as ≥10 kg increase from prepregnancy weight. We defined child overweight/obesity as BMI ≥ 85th percentile, and low reading and math achievement as scores one standard deviation below the mean. We used survey-weighted multivariable modified Poisson models with a log link to relate gestational weight gain z-score with each outcome.Results:Excess postpartum weight increase occurred in 40% of mothers. Approximately 28% of twins were affected by overweight/obesity, and 16% and 14% had low reading and low math scores. There was a positive linear relationship between pregnancy weight gain and both excess postpartum weight increase and childhood overweight/obesity. Compared with a gestational weight gain z-score 0 SD (equivalent to 20 kg at 37 weeks gestation), a weight gain z-score of +1 SD (27 kg) was associated with 6.3 (0.71, 12) cases of excess weight increase per 1000 women and 4.5 (0.81, 8.2) excess cases of child overweight/obesity per 100 twins. Gestational weight gain was not related to kindergarten academic readiness.Conclusions:The high prevalence of excess postpartum weight increase and childhood overweight/obesity within the recommended ranges of gestational weight gain for twin pregnancies suggests that these guidelines could be inadvertently contributing to longer-term maternal and child obesity.

Childhood prevalence of achondroplasia in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

The aim of this study was to estimate the childhood prevalence of achondroplasia, trends over time in birth prevalence, and age at diagnosis in Australia. Children born between 1990 and 2019 with a clinical and radiological and/or molecular diagnosis of achondroplasia were identified from a tertiary hospital servicing New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and compared with population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Childhood prevalence of achondroplasia, based on children ≤19 years of age and resident in NSW/ACT on June 30, 2019 (n = 109), was 5.2 per 100,000. A total of 127 individuals with achondroplasia were born in 1990-2019 in NSW/ACT. Birth prevalence rates increased across birth decades, from 3.3 per 100,000 live births in 1990-1999 to 5.3 per 100,000 in 2010-2019 (p < 0.0001). Median age at diagnosis decreased to 17 days in 2010-2019 compared with 30 days in 1990-1999 (p = 0.035), although the overall decreasing trend across consecutive decades did not reach statistical significance. This is the first study to show a rising birth prevalence rate for achondroplasia in Australia with a concurrent decreasing age at diagnosis, both of which were statistically significant after 2 decades.