BACKGROUND We aimed to study the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to assess its familial clustering among schoolchildren in northern China. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on 95,292 schoolchildren in northern China to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity. A group of overweight and obese children (n = 450) was selected using a cluster sampling method. Answ...

BACKGROUND Rural residence is protective against atopy and wheeze-rhinitis-eczema symptoms in developed countries, an effect attributed to farming and poor hygiene exposures. There are few data from developing countries addressing this question. We compared atopy and wheeze-rhinitis-eczema symptoms between urban and rural Ecuador, and explored the effects of farming and poor hygiene exposures. ...

BACKGROUND This study investigated the association between sociodemographic and behavioral factors and health standards based on physical fitness component scores in a sample of Brazilian schoolchildren. METHODS A sample of 1457 girls and 1392 boys aged 6 to 18 years performed a test battery of 5 items: 1) sit-and-reach, 2) curl-up, 3) trunk-lift, 4) push-up, and 5) progressive endurance run ...

Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness in the world and is associated with precarious living conditions in developing countries. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of trachoma in three municipalities of the Marajó Archipelago, located in the state of Pará, Brazil. In 2008, 2,054 schoolchildren from the public primary school system of the urban area of the...

To estimate the mumps vaccine effectiveness (VE) during a large genotype D mumps outbreak, we conducted a cross-sectional study in eight primary schools and associated households in the Netherlands. Questionnaires were used to collect information on the occurrence of mumps. Multivariate analyses were used to estimate VE. Among schoolchildren we estimated the VE against mumps. Among household co...

In order to determine the status of malaria among schoolchildren on Kome Island (Lake Victoria), near Mwanza, Tanzania, a total of 244 schoolchildren in 10 primary schools were subjected to a blood survey using the fingerprick method. The subjected schoolchildren were 123 boys and 121 girls who were 6-8 years of age. Only 1 blood smear was prepared for each child. The overall prevalence of mala...

BACKGROUND Malocclusion, though not life-threatening, is an important public health issue, which has a large impact on the individual, causing discomfort, social and functional limitations. OBJECTIVE To evaluate objectively orthodontic treatment needs in Nigerian schoolchildren and the impact of malocclusion on their quality of life. METHODS This cross-sectional study involved schoolchildre...

A health survey was carried out among 8259 second- and fifth-grade schoolchildren living in three towns along the Israeli coast. The schoolchildren performed the following pulmonary function tests: forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec, and peak expiratory flow, their parents filled out an American Thoracic Society-National Heart and Lung Institute health questionnaire. The a...

OBJECTIVE Verify the association between metabolic risk profile in students with different levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and body mass index, as well as the nutritional status of their parents. METHODS A cross-sectional study comprising 1.254 schoolchildren aged between seven and 17 years. The metabolic risk profile was calculated by summing the standardized values of high density lipop...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate information dissemination by children and attitudes among children towards a school-based tuberculosis (TB) reduction strategy that asked children to address TB symptoms, testing and stigma in their homes. SETTING AND DESIGN Qualitative research was conducted with schoolchildren before, and 2 years into, an intervention to promote early detection of TB using sputum micro...