The impact of Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis on nutritional status

Article Abstract:

Children who developed Haemophilus influenzae type B meningitis were evaluated for subsequent nutrition and growth. This illness, an inflammation of brain tissue, is a common and serious infectious disease among infants and children in the United States. The incidence has been estimated at 19 to 69 cases per 100,000 children under five years of age. This meningitis can cause permanent disability due to nervous system damage. Nutrition during the infection is important because children in this age group are still experiencing brain growth; adequate nutrients are vital for the brain to develop properly. The 111 children studied all appeared to be well-nourished when they contracted meningitis. They were then followed during their hospitalization and for more six months. Blood tests and growth measurements indicative of nutritional status were taken at regular intervals. During the acute infection, transient problems with nutritional status were noted, for example riboflavin (vitamin B-2) levels were low in half the children. This was thought to be due to the increased metabolic rate caused by the infection, which apparently utilized (burned up) additional riboflavin. During the six months following the infection, none of the children had a slowed rate of growth, which suggests that nutrition remained adequate to support growth. However, 43 percent of the 111 subjects were overweight at the six-month evaluation. Only 25 percent of this age group is overweight in the general population. A long-term follow-up at 1.17 to 5.5 years after meningitis confirmed that this infection predisposes to obesity; 21 of 49 children evaluated (43 percent) were overweight and 14 of the 21 became overweight after contracting meningitis. Several possible explanations for the obesity follow. Concerned parents may have overfed their children following the illness. The meningitis could have altered appetite regulatory mechanisms. Finally, the children may have been less active following the illness due to its adverse effects on the nervous system.

Causes of, Pediatric diseases, Obesity, Meningitis

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Smoking and lung function in elderly men and women: the Cardiovascular Health Study

Article Abstract:

Cigarette smoking appears to reduce lung function among the elderly. Smoking is already known to impair lung function in younger adults. Because smokers are more likely to die prematurely or to stop smoking when they become ill, elderly smokers may be a healthy subset of an initially larger cohort of smokers. Among 5,201 people over 65, 10% of the white men were current smokers, 19% of the black men were current smokers, 13% of the white women were current smokers and 17% of the black women were current smokers. Over 50% of the men were former smokers and about 25% of the women were former smokers. People who had never smoked had better lung function than current and former smokers. Lung function among people who quit before age 40 was similar to that of never smokers. Among former smokers, lung function declined as age at quitting increased. Because poor lung function is associated with cardiovascular disease and lung cancer, elderly smokers should be encouraged to quit.

Smokers, Smoking, Respiration

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Interannual variation of the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis

Article Abstract:

Any future study of the effectiveness of a vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae type b mieningitis must be methodologically sound to prevent bias because the disease itself is difficult to study statistically. A ten-year study in King County, Wa. found that the standard deviation of type b meningitis varied from 26 percent to 115 percent of the mean. The King County researchers found that the highest rate of illness occured in children six- to 17-months old. Those older than 24 months were least likely to get type b meningitis. The age limit for the study, which took place between Jan 1977 and Dec 1986, was five years. Further study is recommended, but because the vaccine is not 100 percent effective and because not every infant receives the vaccine, an effectiveness study is particularly difficult to undertake.

Analysis, Statistics, Seasonal variations (Diseases), King County, Washington, Washington (State)

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