Vitamin D deficiency in kids ups heart disease risk
Low levels of vitamin D in childhood increases the
risk of heart disease later, a study has suggested.
Low levels of vitamin D in childhood were associated with subclinical atherosclerosis over 25 years later in adulthood, the findings showed.
Low levels of vitamin D in childhood were associated with subclinical atherosclerosis over 25 years later in adulthood, the findings showed.
Atherosclerosis correlates with cardiovascular risk factors, and predicts cardiovascular events.
"Our results showed an association between low vitamin D levels in childhood and increased occurrence of subclinical atherosclerosis in adulthood," said one of the authors Markus Juonala from University of Turku Finland.
"The association was independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors including serum lipids, blood pressure, smoking, diet, physical activity, obesity indices and socioeconomic status," Juonala added.
The study examined the relationship between low childhood vitamin D levels and adult increased carotid intima-thickness (IMT), a marker of structural atherosclerosis.
The researchers analysed 2,148 participants aged three-18 years at baseline.
They were re-examined at age 30-45 years.
Participants with low levels of vitamin D in childhood had a significantly higher prevalence of high-risk IMT as adults, the findings showed.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
12.02.2015
Energy drinks trigger hyperactivity
in school children
Middle-school children who consume heavily sweetened
energy drinks are 66 percent more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and
inattention symptoms, reveals a new study.
The finding has implications for school success and lends support to existing recommendations to limit the amount of sweetened beverages school children drink.
The authors also recommend that children avoid energy drinks, which in addition to high levels of sugar also often contain caffeine.
"Our results support the American Academy of Paediatrics recommendation that parents should limit consumption of sweetened beverages and that children should not consume any energy drinks," said lead researcher Jeannette Ickovics from the Yale School of Public Health.
The research team surveyed 1,649 middle-school students randomly selected from a single urban school district in Connecticut.
The researchers found that boys were more likely to consume energy drinks than girls. The average age of the student participants was 12.4 years.
"As the total number of sugar-sweetened beverages increased, so too did risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms among our middle-school students. Importantly, it appears that energy drinks are driving this association," Ickovics explained.
In addition to hyperactivity and inattention, heavily sugared beverages also impact childhood obesity, Ickovics noted.
The study appeared in the journal Academic Paediatrics.
12.02.2015
Nobody got where they are today by living for
tomorrow
Tom Wilson
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