International Journal of Pediatrics
Volume:3 Issue: 20, Aug 2015

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the common nutritional deficiency(1) and it exists in both childhood and adult life. Vitamin D not only regulate calcium and bone metabolism but also confer protection against type 1 diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases, malignancies and various infectious diseases (2). Recent data indicate that vitamin D deficiency is pandemic. Though the majority of population in India lives in areas receiving ample sunlight throughout the year, vitamin D deficiency is very common in all age groups and both the sexes across the country (3). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is 50-90 % in the Indian subcontinent (4). We conducted our study to know the magnitude of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency. This was a cross sectional study which includes 96 apparently healthy school going children (50 Male & 46 Female) at age 5 to 10 years. We found that 33.33% (15 Male &17 Female) had vitamin D levels [25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH) D)] less than 25 nmol/L, 33.33 %(14 Male & 18 Female) had between 25- 50 nmol/L, 20.83% (14 Male & 6 Female) between 50- 75 nmol/L and 12.50% (7 Male & 5 Female) had more than 75 nmol/L. Our data indicate that 87.50% children (86% Male and 89.13% Female) of Jaipur region have sub optimal and deficient vitamin D levels. Inadequate sun exposure (because of social or religious norms related to public modesty and fear of dark complexion), inadequate dietary intake of vitamin D due to vegetarian diet, lack of vitamin D fortified food and adulteration of milk and milk products are the suggested causes of vitamin D deficiency in these children. Parents and children should be educated on the benefits of a combination of sun exposure, vitamin D fortified food items, supplements and regular physical exercise. Replacement needs to be tailored depending on the degree of insufficiency.

Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) is a rare, inherited disorder of immune dysregulation secondary to defective lymphocyte apoptosis. This leads to uninhibited proliferation of lymphoid tissue manifesting with lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, autoimmune cytopenia, and an increased risk of lymphoid malignancy. We report a two- year- old boy with fever, generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, bicytopenia and seizure. He was investigated extensively to rule out infectious, malignant and autoimmune causes and was subsequently found to have elevated "double negative" T lymphocytes with other evidence of autoimmunity and hyperglobulinemia. In the absence of molecular diagnostic testing a diagnosis of probable ALPS was made and corticosteroid was started. Though there was initial good response, steroid could not be tapered, so, he was started on mycophenolate and responded to it. It is believed that with common and wide range of manifestations, ALPS is likely to be under-diagnosed and a greater awareness of the entity among pediatricians is required.

The loss of a child is a tragedy - families suffer and human potential is wasted. 6.3 million children under the age of five died in 2013, nearly 17 000 every day. Most deaths among children aged one to five years are due to diseases that can be prevented, but that can also be easily treated at home or in health facilities. Leading causes of death in under-five children are preterm birth complications, pneumonia, birth asphyxia, diarrhea and malaria. About 45% of all child deaths are linked to malnutrition. Under-five deaths are increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, while the proportion in the rest of the world dropped from 32% in 1990 to 18% in 2013. Children in sub-Saharan Africa are more than 15 times more likely to die before the age of five than children in developed regions. About half of under-five deaths occur in only five countries: China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. India (21%) and Nigeria (13%) together account for more than a third of all under-five deaths.

Junk food, due to the lack of vitamins, minerals and trace amounts of energy and protein, there is the risk that the child's stomach filled and by reducing her/his appetite, reduce the chance of nutritious foods. So it is necessary to determine the relationship between using of junk food with growth rate in children. This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 300 mothers and their babies, who were referring to 10 selected Mashhad health-care centers for monitoring their 6-24 months children. Participants were selected by cluster and simple random sampling and valid and reliable questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by descriptive- analytic statistics and using SPSS version 16. In growth chart, 86.7 percent of children showed appropriate growth, 10.3 percent had delayed growth and 3 percent had horizontal growth curve. In 11.3 percent of families, the junk food has been used for children regularly, 44.7 percent did not believe in these snacks and 44 percent of mothers sometimes used this junk food for their children. Results showed the statistical correlation between junk food consumption and growth status of children was significant, so children whom haven’t had junk food, have grown more favorable than the other kids (P<0.05). Use snacks interfere with the child's growth. Junk food consumption among the study population was high relatively. Mothers need to be aware of the effects of junk food to children's development.

The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) by anthropometric measurements among preschool children of tribal community of Chhattisgarh, the Central of India. A total of 449 children (237 boys and 212 girls) from 286 families were selected randomly. Anthropometric measurements were done as per standard protocol. The level of underweight, stunting and wasting was assessed using Standard Deviation (SD) classification as against National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference standards. 369 (82.1%) children belonged to one or the other grade of PEM. 189 (42%) belonged to grade II, 92 (20.4%) belonged to grade III and 84 (18.7%) belonged to grade IV while only 80(17.8%) were healthy. We found that only 99 children (22%) were normal, 206 children (45.8%) were stunted, 30 (6.68%) were wasted, 114 (25.3%) were wasted and stunted. This study found very high rates of malnutrition in the form of underweight, stunting and wasting in preschool children of tribal community, indicating a critical situation. There is urgent need for an integrated approach towards improving the child health as well as nutritional status in this area.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most complex problems of health in the world. Since youth group and mostly students are one of main groups at risk, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of educational intervention on knowledge, attitude and performance of high school students about AIDS. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 girls selected randomly from two public schools and they divided into two control and intervention groups. Research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire including two parts (demographic questions and specialized questions about AIDS). Firstly, a pretest was held, then 3 educational sessions were held on AIDS, its’ transmission and prevention ways by speech, ask and answer, and educational pamphlet. Students took posttests immediately after educational intervention and two months later. Data were analyzed by statistical tests including chi-square test, paired t- test, independent t- test, and Rapid Manager and using SPSS version 13. Mean score of participant's knowledge about HIV was 16.8±3.8 before intervention; it increased to 24.4±3.1 immediately, and 24.5±3.1 two months after intervention (P<0.001). Mean score of participant's attitude about HIV was 58.5±7.5 before intervention; it increased to 69.2±6.0 immediately, and 72.4±6.7 two months after intervention (P<0.001). Moreover, mean score of participant's performance about HIV was 2.4±1.4 before intervention; it increased to 4.6±1.4 immediately, and 4.8±1.2 two months after intervention (P<0.001). Findings showed that this educational intervention improved student's knowledge, attitude and performance. So, executing educational programs in schools, with a focus on common diseases, should be seriously considered by school officials and health managers.

Empathy is believed to play an important role in fostering prosocial behavior and social competence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of empathy teaching on aggression and compatibility in female students of elementary sixth grade in yazd, center of Iran. The samples were 62 girl students of grade 6 in elementary schools that were selected by available (targeted) sampling among girl students of grade 6 on Yazd. They were put in two groups of control group and experiment group randomly and equally. Data were collected by using empathy questions of (Esenberg, Febs, Oscolar, Carlo & Miller, 1991) questionnaire about children behavioral disorder and Bus & Perry questionnaire and were analyzed with Mankoo & Ankova methods. The mean age of students was 13 ± 0.359 year-old. The Results showed that after controlling scores of pretests, there was a meaningful relationship between two groups in their empathy, social compatibility and aggression and its aspects (like physical aggression, verbal aggression, hostility and anger) scores (P< 0.05). The development of empathy with training programs, can have a positive effect on reduce of aggression and increasing of compatibility in students at elementary schools.

Teachers are one of the groups that in addition to teaching the students can have a role in control and identification of child abuse and violence in schools. Certainly, before doing any action and choose an approach to reduce misbehavior, we should be aware of situation, how and prevalence of child abuse in schools. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence and types of child abuse among teachers and its relationship with demographic characteristics and general health in teachers whom teaching in primary schools. This was a cross-sectional study on 350 female and male students and 82 teachers that performed with a multi-stage sampling method. The tools for data gathering included: questionnaire of teachers'' personal and job characteristics (12 questions), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (28 questions), and standard questionnaire of Conflict Tactics Scale. Data were analyzed by the statistical tests of independent t-test, Mann–Whitney, chi-square, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), with SPSS version 16. Results of statistical analysis revealed that there wasn’t a significant association between general health and physical abuse. But there was a significant association between general health, emotional abuse and neglect. So that their general health score was higher (more score was not associated with better general health), the emotional abuse and neglect were also higher. According to the results, it is suggested to design and implement some programs for prevention and reduction of violence in schools of our country and education of violence prevention methods should be part of school curriculum.