Dietary arginine and linear growth: the Copenhagen School Child Intervention Study.

The amino acid arginine is a well-known growth hormone (GH) stimulator and GH is an important modulator of linear growth. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of dietary arginine on growth velocity in children between 7 and 13 years of age. Data from the Copenhagen School Child Intervention Study during 2001-2 (baseline), and at 3-year and 7-year follow-up, were used. Arginine intake was estimated via a 7 d precoded food diary at baseline and 3-year follow-up. Data were analysed in a multilevel structure in which children were embedded within schools. Random intercept and slopes were defined to estimate the association between arginine intake and growth velocity, including the following covariates: sex; age; baseline height; energy intake; puberty stage at 7-year follow-up and intervention/control group. The association between arginine intake and growth velocity was significant for the third and fourth quintile of arginine intake (2.5-2.8 and 2.8-3.2 g/d, respectively) compared with the first quintile ( < 2.2 g/d) (P for trend = 0.04). Protein intake (excluding arginine) was significantly associated with growth velocity; however, the association was weaker than the association between arginine intake and growth velocity (P for trend = 0.14). The results of the present study suggest a dose-dependent physiological role of habitual protein intake, and specifically arginine intake, on linear growth in normally growing children. However, since the study was designed in healthy children, we cannot firmly conclude whether arginine supplementation represents a relevant clinical strategy. Further research is needed to investigate whether dietary arginine may represent a nutritional strategy potentially advantageous for the prevention and treatment of short stature.

Back pain reporting in children and adolescents: the impact of parents' educational level.

BACKGROUND: Social class, including educational level, is a strong predictor for health-related perceptions and behavior and for health outcomes in general. It is not known whether parental education has an effect on back pain in their offspring. OBJECTIVES: To establish whether parents' educational level is associated with back pain reporting and consequences of back pain in their children. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. DATA COLLECTION: Information on parental education was obtained through questionnaires to parents and back pain information through standardized interviews with the children. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged 8 to 10 years (n = 481) and adolescents aged 14 to 16 years (n = 325) obtained through a proportional 2-stage cluster sample. SETTING: Local schools in Odense, Denmark. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The strength of association and dose-response connection were studied between parental educational level (high/medium/low) and the outcome variables (back pain in the preceding month, and consequences of back pain) in their children. RESULTS: There was a significant modest negative association between the level of parental education and back pain in children but not in adolescents. There was no significant association between parental educational level and back pain consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Further research in this area requires a more ingenious approach such as use of more socially heterogeneous study populations than those usually found in Denmark.