The Italian Consensus Position Statement on Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Obesity in Children and Adolescents integrates and updates the previous guidelines to deliver an evidence based approach to the disease. The following areas were reviewed: (1) obesity definition and causes of secondary obesity; (2) physical and psychosocial comorbidities; (3) treatment and care settings; (4) prevention.The main novelties deriving from the Italian experience lie in the definition, screening of the cardiometabolic and hepatic risk factors and the endorsement of a staged approach to treatment. The evidence based efficacy of behavioral intervention versus pharmacological or surgical treatments is reported. Lastly, the prevention by promoting healthful diet, physical activity, sleep pattern, and environment is strongly recommended since the intrauterine phase.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13052-018-0525-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Celiac Disease (CD) occurs in patients with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) ranging the prevalence of 4.4-11.1% versus 0.5% of the general population. The mechanism of association of these two diseases involves a shared genetic background: HLA genotype DR3-DQ2 and DR4-DQ8 are strongly associated with T1D, DR3-DQ2 with CD. The classical severe presentation of CD rarely occurs in T1D patients, but more often patients have few/mild symptoms of CD or are completely asymptomatic (silent CD). In fact diagnosis of CD is regularly performed by means of the screening in T1D patients. The effects of gluten-free diet (GFD) on the growth and T1D metabolic control in CD/T1D patient are controversial. Regarding of the GFD composition, there is a debate on the higher glycaemic index of gluten-free foods respect to gluten-containing foods; furthermore GFD could be poorer of fibers and richer of fat. The adherence to GFD by children with CD-T1D has been reported generally below 50%, lower respect to the 73% of CD patients, a lower compliance being more frequent among asymptomatic patients. The more severe problems of GFD adherence usually occur during adolescence when in GFD non compliant subjects the lowest quality of life is reported. A psychological and educational support should be provided for these patients.

The clustering of unhealthy lifestyle habits is associated with reduced HRQoL in adolescents and young adults with T1DM. Promoting multiple behavior changes may be a useful approach to improve the health status and the HRQoL in youths with T1DM.

The satisfactory psychometric properties make PIDAQ a usable tool for future studies on oral health-related quality of life among Italian young adults.

BackgroundHereditary angioedema with C1-inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE) is characterized by recurrent edema of unpredictable frequency and severity. Stress, anxiety, and low mood are among the triggering factors most frequently reported. Impaired regulation and processing of emotions, also known as alexithymia, may influence outcomes. The aim of this study was to confirm the presence of alexithymia and stress in children with C1-INH-HAE, to determine whether they are also present in children affected by other chronic diseases, and to investigate their relationship with C1-INH-HAE severity. Data from children with C1-INH-HAE (n = 28) from four reference centers in Italy were compared with data from children with type 1 diabetes (T1D; n = 23) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 25). Alexithymia was assessed using the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children scale; perceived stress was assessed using the Coddington Life Event Scale for Children (CLES-C).ResultsMean age (standard deviation [SD]) in the C1-INH-HAE, T1D, and RA groups was 11.8 (3.3), 11.7 (2.9), and 11.1 (2.6) years, respectively. Mean C1-INH-HAE severity score was 5.9 (2.1), indicating moderate disease. Alexithymia scores were similar among disease groups and suggestive of difficulties in identifying and describing emotions; CLES-C scores tended to be worse in C1-INH-HAE children. C1-INH-HAE severity was found to correlate significantly and positively with alexithymia (p = 0.046), but not with perceived stress. Alexithymia correlated positively with perceived stress.ConclusionsAlexithymia is common in children with chronic diseases. In C1-INH-HAE, it may result in increased perceived stress and act as a trigger of edema attacks. Comprehensive management of C1-INH-HAE children should consider psychological factors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13023-018-0871-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.