ADHD and overweight in boys: cross-sectional study with birth weight as a controlled factor.

Population studies indicate a strong relationship between birth weight (BW) and body size in later life. However, BW as a variable was never accounted for in studies on the relationship between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and overweight. This study aims to assess the relationship between ADHD and overweight with control of birth weight and other confounding factors. Prevalence of overweight was compared in clinical sample of 219 boys with ADHD and 396 boys without ADHD, aged 6-18 years. The following factors were controlled: BW, parents income and education level, place of residence, ADHD type, selected comorbid disorders and stimulant treatment. Overweight and obesity were diagnosed according to the criteria proposed by the International Obesity Task Force. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between ADHD and the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Boys with ADHD differed significantly from the control group in distribution of low BW (8.2 vs. 3.0 %, χ (2) = 8.23, p = 0.02). Low BW was associated with a lower prevalence of overweight than normal and high BW (0 vs. 12.14 %, χ (2) = 4.12, p = 0.04). Overweight was observed significantly more often in boys with ADHD (17.3 vs. 8.3 %, χ (2) = 11.23, p < 0.001) even after adjustment for BW and other variables (OR = 2.44, 95 % CI 1.38-4.29, p = 0.002) and after controlling for ADHD type, stimulant treatment and selected comorbid disorders. Independently to applied analysis, obesity was not associated with ADHD. Lower birth weight is over twice more often observed in boys with ADHD than in control group. Although this phenomenon may reduce the rate of overweight in the studied group, ADHD remains strongly associated with increased prevalence of overweight.

An association between adverse events, anxiety and body size of adolescents.

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between adverse life events, a tendency to respond with a high level of anxiety, and height and adiposity of adolescents. The sample included 575 persons (309 girls and 266 boys) aged 10-15 (mean 12.73) from the Wielkopolska region of Poland. The influence of adverse events during the 6 months before the examination and anxiety trait, as assessed with a STAIC questionnaire, on body height and BMI was analysed. Also sex, age, chronic diseases and socioeconomic status indicators were assessed. One-way and two-way ANOVA was used for assessment of relationships. Adverse events had no influence on body height and BMI. Subjects with a high level of anxiety trait (>34 score) were shorter (difference z=0.21) than subjects with a normal level of anxiety trait (≤34 score). The association of anxiety trait and body height was significant after adjustment for sex, age, chronic diseases and history of adverse life events. The analysis showed no statistically significant influence of adverse life events on height and BMI and a significant relationship between the general tendency to respond with anxiety and body height of adolescents. This suggests that psychological characteristics associated with the cognitive tendency to interpret events as threatening, and consequently, to respond with stress, may be involved in the variability of biological traits regardless of the objective harmfulness of the situation.

Adaptive changes of the electrophoretic mobility of cell nuclei (EMN) index in the intensive physical exercise of male rowers with different training experience.

The aim of this study is to attempt to determine the relationship between the degree of the EMN index and the depth of changes of selected hormones and metabolic parameters as an effect of intensive physical exercise during the training process in male rowers. Juniors (N = 62; chronological age 16.4 y.o. SD = 1.14 y.; training experience 3.0 y.o. SD = 1.05 y.) and seniors (N = 27; chronological age 21.4 y. SD = 1.73 y.; training experience 5.5 y.o. SD = 1.10 y.), in the preparatory period of the training process, performed physical exercise of maximum intensity on a rowing ergometer. Acid-base balance parameters (pH, BE) and the concentration of lactic acid (LA) were determined as the result of physical exercise. Some selected hormones were also indicated (hGH, PrL and Prg) to show their exercise changes. A sample of buccal epithelium cells was taken from each of the male rowers, before and after the exercise, to evaluate the percentage of the EMN index by intracellular microelectrophoresis. A greater differentiation of metabolic changes during exercise was manifested in juniors than seniors. This was reflected in changes of acid-base balance parameters, exercise physiological parameters, hormone concentration and also in changes of the EMN index. These changes were probably dependent on deep metabolic processes of an acid character during exercise. This could prove a more stable homeostasis through more economical metabolic reactions in seniors as the effect of the training process, meaning that seniors were better adapted to heavy physical exercise than juniors.

Growth pattern and growth prediction of body height in children with mucopolysaccharidosis type II.

AIM: Our goal was to evaluate the level, degree and direction of deviation in the ontogenesis of patients with mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) in comparison with the healthy population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The anthropometric data of a longitudinal study on 28 patients with MPS II, aged from 0.5 to 21 years, were used to analyse the general growth patterns in terms of height, weight and head circumference. The growth trend was assessed with the straight-line regression model. The mathematical structural growth model was used to evaluate the structure of body height growth. RESULTS: A statistically significant negative growth trend for all features was found. Analysis of development structure revealed an earlier onset of the adolescent growth spurt among healthy boys and a lower current velocity of growth than expected values. CONCLUSION: During the first 3 years of life, all observed anthropometric features grew faster than normal. They slowed down by the end of the third year and, in subsequent years, reached lower values when compared with the reference charts. The values obtained from the BTT model showed the structure of body height growth, with particular emphasis on the pubertal spurt, was significantly different from the reference charts.

The Electrophoretic Mobility of Cell Nuclei (EMN) index and changes in acid-base homeostasis under conditions of the intensive physical exercise.

The relationship between the Electrophoretic Mobility of Cell Nuclei (EMN) index before and after super-maximal and maximal exercises and changes in physiological parameters associated with acid-base balance of the blood (pH, BE) and lactic acid concentration (LA) were examined in junior (N = 33, X = 15.6 y.o. SD = 1.16 y.), and senior (N = 10, X = 22.0 y.o. SD = 2.70 y.) female rowers. The following parameters: pH, BE and LA changed significantly (p < 0.05) from pre- to post-exercise status, while the EMN index changed only in junior female rowers under super-maximal conditions. Correlations between the EMN index and physiological parameters reflect the homeostatic disturbance associated with intensive exercise conditions. The decline in the EMN index appears to depend on the post-exercise changes of an organism's acidity. The results suggest that changes in the EMN index are associated with variation in physiological parameter, i.e. changes in acidity. We conclude that the EMN index reflects acid-base alterations and may be useful in evaluating systematic reactions to stress.

Growth patterns in children with mucopolysaccharidosis I and II.

BACKGROUND: Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) diseases lead to a profound disruption in normal mechanisms of growth and development. This study was undertaken to determine the general growth of children with MPS I and II. METHODS: The anthropometric data of patients with MPS I and II (n=76) were retrospectively analyzed. The growth patterns of these patients were analyzed and then plotted onto Polish reference charts. Longitudinal analyses were performed to estimate age-related changes. RESULTS: At the time of birth, the body length was greater than reference charts for all MPS groups (Hurler syndrome, P=0.006; attenuated MPS II, P=0.011; severe MPS II, P<0.001). The mean z-score values for every MPS group showed that until the 30th month of life, the growth patterns for all patients were similar. Afterwards, these growth patterns start to differ for individual groups. The body height below the 3rd percentile was achieved around the 30th month for boys with Hurler syndrome, between the 4th and 5th year for patients with severe MPS II and between the 7th and 8th year for patients with attenuated MPS II. CONCLUSIONS: The growth pattern differs between patients with MPS I and II. It reflects the clinical severity of MPS and may assist in the evaluation of clinical efficacy of available therapies.

Growth and nutritional status of children from dysfunctional families with alcohol addicted parents in Poland.

The study was aimed at assessment of impact of parents' alcohol addiction on growth and prevalence of underweight and overweight in their children. Two groups of subjects were compared: 80 children of alcohol addicted parents (ChAAP) aged from 7 to 14 years and reference group (RG) of 1000 children selected in terms of age and place of residence. Differences in z scores for height and Body Mass Index (BMI), prevalence of underweight and overweight were assessed. Families of ChAAP were characterized by: lower parents' education, higher unemployment rate, a greater number of children than in RG. The differences between ChAAP and RG in z scores for height (z scores: -0.54 vs. 0.45, t = -7.01, p < 0.001) and BMI (z scores: -0.61 vs. 0.29, t = -6.28, p < 0.001) remained significant when impact of the parents' employment (for height: F = 8.88, p = 0.003; for BMI: F = 21.90, p < 0.001) and the number of children (for height: F = 30.89, p < 0.001; for BMI: F = 21.89, p < 0.001) were controlled. Children raised in families with alcohol addicted parents were shorter and had lower BMI than children of the reference group. Underweight was more frequent in that group, and overweight and obesity were more rare. The observed differences seem to result from other factors than bad living conditions, e.g.: chronic post-natal stress, or adverse events during fetal development.

Assessment of growth in pharmacological treatment-naïve Polish boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate the growth of pharmacological treatment-naïve polish boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: The sample included 135 boys (mean age: 11.67 years) with ADHD. The level of subjects' height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) was compared to the reference growth charts. Full estimation of measurement accuracy was provided. Regression analysis was used to estimate the biological and social factors contributing to the growth determination in the examined group. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between mean body height of boys with ADHD and standards of growth of Polish children. Separate analyses for body height of the examined boys aged 6-10, 11-15, and 16-18 years also gave no statistically significant results. Mean body weight (z=0.28) and BMI (z=0.25) in the total cohort were statistically higher than the norm. After categorization of the boys according to age, statistically significant differences were demonstrated only for weight in the age range of 6-10 years (z=0.31) and for BMI in the age range of 11-15y (z=0.42). The regression analysis showed the strongest relation between the subjects' growth and the parents' body size, newborn's condition (birth, body weight, and APGAR score), factors connected with lifestyle, and socio-economic status of the family. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the height of drug-naïve boys with ADHD was not significantly different from the norm. The investigation also showed a tendency for greater body weight and BMI in boys with ADHD in comparison with the growth charts, which may be manifested also in greater risk of overweight and obesity in this group. The results of research suggest the necessity to control for such variables as genetic, perinatal, socioeconomic, and psychosocial factors, which may affect children's development, in future research on the growth of children with ADHD.

Growth in stimulant-naive children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the growth of stimulant-naive children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in 3 aspects of development: level, trend, and structure of the process. PATIENTS AND METHOD: The study sample included 53 individuals between the ages of 6 and 17 years (mean: 11.90). The average level of growth (z scores) in prepubertal, pubertal, and postpubertal stage of development and trend of the process were estimated on the basis of a comparison with growth charts. The prediction of adolescent growth spurt was conducted using the mathematical structural growth model of Jolioceur, Pontier, and Abidi. RESULTS: Difference between boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity and the norm was statistically significant in the prepubertal stage and for the average level of growth between the ages of 2 and 17 years. Distinct suppression of growth was found between the ages of 9 and 14. Analysis of development structure revealed an earlier onset of the adolescent growth spurt among boys (difference: 5 months) and a higher velocity of growth at this moment (difference: 0.33 cm/year) than expected values. CONCLUSIONS: The application of both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses clearly illustrated the higher level of growth of boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity in the prepubertal stage, the suppression of growth on the turn of prepubertal and pubertal periods, and earlier occurrence of the spurt onset. Observed differences in the level and trend of growth as well as in the parameters of adolescent growth spurt are linked with disorder-related factors.