Cognitive Outcomes at 18 Months: Findings from the Early Life Interventions for Childhood Growth and Development in Tanzania (ELICIT) Trial

Micronutrient deficiencies and enteric infections negatively impact child growth and development. We enrolled children shortly after birth in a randomized, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial interventional trial in Haydom, Tanzania, to assess nicotinamide and/or antimicrobials (azithromycin and nitazoxanide) effect on length at 18 months of age. Cognitive score at 18 months using the Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool (MDAT), which includes gross motor, fine motor, language, and social assessments, was a secondary outcome. Here, we present the MDAT results of 1,032 children. There was no effect of nicotinamide (change in development-for-age Z score [DAZ] −0.08; 95% CI: −0.16, 0) or antimicrobials (change in DAZ 0.04; 95% CI: −0.06, 0.13) on overall MDAT score. The interventions had no effect on cognitive outcomes in subgroups defined by gender, socioeconomic status, birthweight, and birth season or on MDAT subscores. Further analyses are needed to identify targetable risk factors for impaired cognitive development in these settings.

Growth of Neanderthal infants from Krapina (120–130 ka), Croatia

Modern humans have a slow and extended period of childhood growth, but to what extent this ontogenetic pathway was present in Neanderthals is debated. Dental development, linked to the duration of somatic growth across modern primates, is the main source for information about growth and development in a variety of fossil primates, including humans. Studies of Neanderthal permanent teeth report a pace of development either similar to recent humans or relatively accelerated. Neanderthal milk teeth, which form and emerge before permanent teeth, provide an opportunity to determine which pattern was present at birth. Here we present a comparative study of the prenatal and early postnatal growth of five milk teeth from three Neanderthals (120 000–130 000 years ago) using virtual histology. Results reveal regions of their milk teeth formed quickly before birth and over a relatively short period of time after birth. Tooth emergence commenced towards the earliest end of the eruption schedules displayed by extant human children. Advanced dental development is consistent with expectations for Neanderthal infant feeding.

Parental Perceptions of Children’s Weight Status in 22 Countries: The WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative: COSI 2015/2017

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Parents can act as important agents of change and support for healthy childhood growth and development. Studies have found that parents may not be able to accurately perceive their child’s weight status. The purpose of this study was to measure parental perceptions of their child’s weight status and to identify predictors of potential parental misperceptions. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We used data from the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative and 22 countries. Parents were asked to identify their perceptions of their children’s weight status as “underweight,” “normal weight,” “a little overweight,” or “extremely overweight.” We categorized children’s (6–9 years; <i>n</i> = 124,296) body mass index (BMI) as BMI-for-age Z-scores based on the 2007 WHO-recommended growth references. For each country included in the analysis and pooled estimates (country level), we calculated the distribution of children according to the WHO weight status classification, distribution by parental perception of child’s weight status, percentages of accurate, overestimating, or underestimating perceptions, misclassification levels, and predictors of parental misperceptions using a multilevel logistic regression analysis that included only children with overweight (<i>including</i> obesity). Statistical analyses were performed using Stata version 15 1. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Overall, 64.1% of parents categorized their child’s weight status accurately relative to the WHO growth charts. However, parents were more likely to underestimate their child’s weight if the child had overweight (82.3%) or obesity (93.8%). Parents were more likely to underestimate their child’s weight if the child was male (adjusted OR [adjOR]: 1.41; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.28–1.55); the parent had a lower educational level (adjOR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.26–1.57); the father was asked rather than the mother (adjOR: 1.14; 95% CI: 0.98–1.33); and the family lived in a rural area (adjOR: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.99–1.24). Overall, parents’ BMI was not strongly associated with the underestimation of children’s weight status, but there was a stronger association in some countries. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusion:</i></b> Our study supplements the current literature on factors that influence parental perceptions of their child’s weight status. Public health interventions aimed at promoting healthy childhood growth and development should consider parents’ knowledge and perceptions, as well as the sociocultural contexts in which children and families live.

Features of childhood growth, lifestyle and environment associated with a cardiometabolic risk score in young adults

Introduction: In young adults, the metabolic syndrome is rare. To better assess the risks for future cardiovascular disease, a cardiometabolic score can be used, ranking the disease risk in each subject. The score is a continuous variable summarising the individual z-scores for waist circumference, blood pressure, blood levels of glucose, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol. Our main aim was to assess the association between early childhood growth and the cardiometabolic score in young adults. Methods: Study participants were recruited among subjects in the longitudinal population-based GrowUp 1990 Gothenburg study. Those with information on weight and length at birth, as well as weight, height, waist circumference, and parental BMI at ten years of age were invited to participate in a health survey at 18-20 years of age. 513 young adults (female 51%) were included. Multivariable linear stepwise regression analysis was applied. Results: The mean (SD) BMI was 22.2 (3.26) in males and 21.3 (2.69) kg/m² in females; the cardiometabolic score was 0.24 (3.12) and -0.22 (3.18), respectively. A statistically significantly higher score (p<0.001) was seen in individuals with metabolic syndrome, as defined by IDF. After controlling for adult lifestyle features, BMI z-score at ten years of age was significant risk factor in both sexes for an elevated cardiometabolic score in early adulthood, mean(SE) beta 0.47(0.19), p=0.014 in males, 0.82(017) p<0.0001 in females. In males, high maternal BMI and low age at adiposity rebound and in females high birth weight were also associated with a statistically significant risk. Additionally, contraceptive use in females was a risk factor for elevated cardiometabolic score and, in males a high lifestyle related index score showed a protective association with the cardiometabolic score. Conclusion: A high BMI z-score at ten years of age is a risk factor for the cardiometabolic state in young adults, an outcome points to the preventive potential of monitoring BMI in ten-year-old schoolchildren. This finding must however be validated in a new large cohort. Moreover, in young adults in whom metabolic syndrome is rare, a cardiometabolic score seems to be a promising approach and potentially a more powerful tool to detect risks for cardiovascular disease later in life, than using metabolic syndrome categorisation.

Paediatric orthopaedic surgery

This chapter outlines childhood growth and the physis and the management of paediatric fractures. The chapter also outlines the approach to the limping child or the child with a non-accidental injury. Conditions such as hip dysplasia, Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease, slipped upper femoral epiphysis, scoliosis and cerebral palsy are described in detail.