Does Neurologic Level in Pediatric Patients with Myelodysplasia Affect Body Fat?

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered children's daily routines. The health impacts of our obesogenic environment are exacerbated by COVID-19. Many clinicians have concerns that the lack of structured activity, increased stress and altered eating behaviors would lead to increases in adiposity in children. The present study examined changes in body composition as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in pediatric patients in larger bodies and demonstrates significant increases in total body fat, percent body fat (%fat), and BMI z-score, as well as markers of insulin resistance. In this retrospective, longitudinal study, body composition was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) within a multidisciplinary pediatric fitness clinic at an academic medical center. Visit dates were categorized into Pre-COVID-19 (before 4/1/2020) and Peri-COVID-19 (on or after 4/1/2020). Linear mixed effects modeling was conducted to evaluate changes in clinical and laboratory outcomes from Pre- to Peri-COVID-19. Baseline assessment was obtained from 650 patients with higher BMI scores (52% male) with a mean (SD) age of 12.3 (3.2) years. The adjusted mean BMI z-score (BMIz) was significantly higher in the Peri-COVID-19 sample when compared to the Pre-COVID-19 samples (2.31 vs. 2.25, P < 0.0001) which can be attributed to greater total fat mass (TFM) of 93.0 (90.0-96.4) lbs. (P = 0.007) and %FAT of 40.2% (39.2-41.2) as compared to the Pre-COVID-19 patients. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced social determinants and lifestyle factors. Most notable changes observed were negative changes in physical activity and screen time. The need for social isolation in a pandemic has resulted in worsening obesity and its comorbidities, and pediatricians need to be aware of this issue. The COVID-19 pandemic exerts disproportionate burden on children and families, magnifying their vulnerability to changes in body composition and chronic disease risk.

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Audiology Service Models in a Family Physician Practice Setting

Perspectives on Audiology ◽

10.1044/poa6.1.24 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 24-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sridhar Krishnamurti

Keyword(s):

Pediatric Patients ◽

Practice Patterns ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Direct Consequence ◽

Direct Access ◽

Practice Setting ◽

Pediatric Populations ◽

Family Practice Physicians ◽

Primary Focus ◽

Balance Problems

This article illustrates the potential of placing audiology services in a family physician’s practice setting to increase referrals of geriatric and pediatric patients to audiologists. The primary focus of family practice physicians is the diagnosis/intervention of critical systemic disorders (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer). Hence concurrent hearing/balance disorders are likely to be overshadowed in such patients. If audiologists get referrals from these physicians and have direct access to diagnose and manage concurrent hearing/balance problems in these patients, successful audiology practice patterns will emerge, and there will be increased visibility and profitability of audiological services. As a direct consequence, audiological services will move into the mainstream of healthcare delivery, and the profession of audiology will move further towards its goals of early detection and intervention for hearing and balance problems in geriatric and pediatric populations.

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