Search

Background: Studies of the relationship between obesity and functional bowel disorders, carried out in different age groups, provide conflicting results. It remains unclear what factors are responsible for the transition from a tendency to constipation in children to a tendency to diarrhea in adults with obesity.Aim: To establish factors related to stool consistency as a surrogate marker of colon transit in adolescents with obesity.Materials and methods: A single-center observational cross-sectional study was carried out. We consecutively recruited adolescents, aged 11–17 years with obesity. Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle and nutritional characteristics were assessed using questionnaires. Bowel symptoms were assessed using questionnaires and interviews. Stool consistency was assessed using the Bristol Stool Form Scale. Serum concentrations of ALT, AST, bilirubin, cholesterol, glucose, HbA1c, leptin, and insulin were determined. The HOMA-IR index was used to determine insulin resistance.Results: One hundred and ten adolescents with obesity were enrolled in the study. Of these, 69.1% had a pathological consistency of feces, with the prevalence of forms characterizing delayed gut transit (49.1%). The predominance of loose stools was reported by 5.5% of patients. The combination of different forms of stool (unstable stool) was described by 14.5% of adolescents. Hard stools were common among adolescents from single-parent families and adolescents who rarely consume dairy products. The presence of loose stools has been associated with insulin resistance.Conclusion: Most obese adolescents who do not have abdominal complaints have colon transit disorders. Medical professionals should actively ask these patients about stool frequency and properties. With constipation, dietary correction is justified. Research is needed to investigate in-depth gut microbiota as a possible link between obesity and diarrhea.

Obesity and functional bowel disease (FBD) are affecting a large number of people worldwide. They have psychosocial consequences and associated with considerable healthcare resource use. The purpose of this review was a comprehensive study of the relationship between obesity and FBD, as well as mechanisms to explain this relationship. An analysis of the literature provides strong evidence of a link between obesity and diarrhea, but there is currently insufficient data to speak confidently about the link between obesity and irritable bowel syndrome. Most studies suggest that adult obesity is not associated or negatively associated with constipation. The association of obesity with diarrhea is most convincingly explained through diet, eating behavior, changes in the metabolism of bile acids, accelerated colonic transit, altered intestinal microbiota and associated inflammation and increased intestinal permeability. Medicines taken by patients, as well as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, can play their own role.Planning and conducting studies, including longitudinal ones, based on valid diagnostic criteria and taking into account the widest possible range of confounders, will allow a deeper study of the problem of comorbidity of obesity and FBD. This will help optimize the treatment of these diseases.

Objectives. To assess the impact of obesity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Mongolian and Caucasian adolescents living in rural areas of Buryatia, Russia.Materials and methods. The study included 77 overweight and obese adolescents aged 11–17 years from rural areas of Buryatia, Russia. Forty-six of them were Mongolians (13 were Soyots (minor ethnic group), 33 were Buryats) and 31 were Caucasians. To compare, we recruited seventy-three adolescents from the same community-based sample with normal weight, comparable with the overweight group in gender, age and race/ ethnos.Height, weight and waist circumference were objectively measured using standardized methods. BMI and waist circumference Z-scores were calculated using the age and sex specific reference. HRQoL was measured by the self-report version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0.Results. Being overweight was associated with poorer adolescent-reported HRQoL totals and in each domain in comparison with the control group of Caucasian adolescents (all р < 0.01), but not Mongolians.Subgroup analysis for overweight adolescents indicated that after controlling for gender, age, Tanner stage of adolescents, education and social status of their mothers, HRQoL scores were significantly lower in the Caucasians compared with the Mongolians regardless of BMI z-score in all domains. Moreover, abdominal obesity was independently associated with poorer scores in the domains of emotional (β = –0.26; р = 0.018), school (β = –0.23; р = 0.03) and psychosocial (β = –0.24; р = 0.028) functioning and total HRQoL scores (β = –0.22; р = 0.04).Conclusion. In the rural community-based sample, overweight Caucasian adolescents have significantly poorer HRQoL than their non-overweight peers of the same race, and they have worse HRQoL than obese Mongolian adolescents with comparable anthropometric characteristics.When developing health improvement programs for adolescents from rural Buryatia, it should be considered that the improvement of quality of life may become a good motivation to lose weight for Caucasian adolescents but not for Mongolian adolescents.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of L-tryptophan used in complex therapy of delayed psycho-speech development in children to influence the dynamics of cognitive performance.Materials and methods. The study included 80 children aged 3–7 years with delayed psycho-speech development (DPSD). The main group consisted of 37 children (25 male and 12 female), a control group – 43 patients (30 male and 13 female). Both groups of children were comparable in age, sex, degree of speech and cognitive impairment, and IQ level. Patients in the main group have taken standard therapy with L-tryptophan (25–50 mg per day depending on the age) supplement for 14 days. Control patients have taken standard therapy only. Psychodiagnostic tests at the entrance and exit of patients from this study was carried out for evaluation the dynamics of cognitive functions. All differences were considered significant at p < 0.05.Results. The study suggests that oral L-tryptophan intake selectively affects the dynamics of cognitive performance in children with DPSD. So, we studied pre- and post-treatment cognitive performance in both group patients and noted a significant improvement in the visual memory (p < 0.001) and an increase in thinking productivity (p < 0.001) in the tryptophan group versus similar indicators in the control group. Intergroup differences (p < 0.001 and p = 0.026, respectively, for the main and control groups) also found.Conclusion. Two-week L-tryptophan intake in complex therapy of DPSD in children can significantly improve the cognitive activity, and greatly increase both the effectiveness and sustainability of treatment outcomes, which will significantly reduce the time and frequency of hospitalization and financial costs for the rehabilitation of this patients.

The aim of the work is to study the state of health and peculiarities of metabolic reactions in adolescents, representatives of the small Siberian ethnos - tofalars and caucasians.Materials and methods. Clinico-biochemical examination of children and adolescents, representatives of a small ethnic group – Тofalars and Caucasians, permanently residing in the territory of Tofalaria in the Irkutsk region. The metabolic status of adolescents was assessed using spectrophotometric (total cholesterol, diene conjugates), fluorometric (superoxide dismutase activity, α-tocopherol and retinol levels), immunoenzymes (determination of thyroid-stimulating hormone concentrations, free fractions of triiodothyronine and thyroxine, cortisol).Results. An increased incidence of diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, as well as diseases of the endocrine system and eating disorders – among Тofalars; diseases of the genitourinary system – among Сaucasians. For practically healthy Тofalar teenagers, in contrast to Сaucasians of the newcomer population, adaptive metabolism reactions are characteristic, which is expressed by a reduced level of total cholesterol and increased values of antioxidant factors (the level of fat-soluble vitamins – α-tocopherol and retinol), and adaptive changes in the system of neuroendocrine regulation.Сonclusion. An assessment of the health status of children and adolescents in Tofalaria has shown the need for more intensive monitoring of the incidence rate in the specified region, with the obligatory consideration of the ethnic factor for the development of regional ethno-specific preventive measures.

Background: Neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS) is widespread among adolescents, which makes it relevant to study the factors contributing to the implementation of syncopic readiness in susceptible persons. Objective: The aim was to assess the connection between extracurricular activities of adolescents and the emergence of NCS. Methods:The questionnaire survey among the Lyceum students aged 14–18 tried to find out the presence of syncope (presyncope) and its nature in a child’s medical history; the nature and intensity of extracurricular loads; and intensity and success of curricular activities. Results: The study included the results of the questionnaire survey among 286 students (62.2% girls). Syncope and presinkope states were observed in a medical history of 136 (47.6%) students, and 105 (77%) of them had NCS. Independent risk factors for the development of NCS were private lessons with tutors, and only in cases where a child had no other extracurricular classes (creative, sports) — OR 6.4 (95% CI 1.7–24.8). The NCS risk was also higher in adolescents, who had good grades at school — OR 2.2 (95% CI 1.1–4.6). Conclusion: The risk of NCS development in teenage schoolchildren is defined by the area of subject education: high risk of this kind of syncope is in children, who have private classes with tutors and no other extracurricular loads, as well as in children, who have good grades at school.

The article deals with the reflection of the ethno-linguistic situation in the Republic of Belarus, taking into account the provision in the multinational state the rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities. The necessity of complex sociolinguistic research and development of the concept of multilingual education are substantiated.