Obesity is defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) has been suggested as the gold standard to define obesity, but because its use is complex and expensive, anthropometric measures such as body mass index (BMI) or the waist-to-height ratio (WtHr) have been used as alternatives. The aim of this study was to review the published literature and investigate the correlation of BMI and WtHr with body fat (BF) measured by DEXA in pediatric populations. References were sought in PubMed/Medline and Embase datasets. Five original articles, published between 2013 and 2015, were finally included in this review. Their sample size ranged from 83 to 5355, and the age of participants ranged from 4.9 to 19 years old. The most frequently reported association measurements were the coefficients of determination (R2), followed by correlation coefficients and least-squares regression coefficients. BF measured by DEXA was strongly correlated with both BMI (R2 ranging from 0.32 to 0.91) and WtHr (R2 ranging from 0.49 to 0.73). Thus, either BMI or WtHr may be useful to define obesity when more sophisticated techniques are not available. Our systematic review of the available literature found that neither index demonstrated superiority in assessing obesity in children.
Background
Given the high incidence of confirmed infection by SARS-CoV-2 and mortality by COVID-19 in the Spanish population, its impact was analysed among persons with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) as a group at risk of a worse evolution. The possible causes of the incidence observed in them are explained and how CF Units have faced this health challenge is detailed.
Methods
Retrospective descriptive observational study, for which a Spanish CF Patients with Confirmed COVID-19 Registry is created, requesting information on number of people affected between 8 March–16 May 2020 and their clinical-demographic characteristics from the CF Units participating in the
European Cystic Fibrosis Society Patient Registry
(ECFSPR). The accumulated incidence is calculated, compared with that of the general population. Additionally, a survey (CF-COVID19-Spain) is carried out on prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection, workings of CF Units and possible reasons for the incidence observed.
Results
COVID-19 was diagnosed in eight CF patients, one of whom had received a lung transplant. The accumulated incidence was 32/10000 in CF patients and 49/10000 in the general population. General death rate was 5.85/10000 while no CF patients included in the ECFSPR died. The characteristics of those affected and the results of the survey are described.
Conclusions
Despite being considered a disease at high risk of severe COVID-19, the low incidence and mortality in CF patients in Spain contrasts with the figures for the general population. The possible factors that would explain such findings are discussed, with the help of the results of the CF-COVID19-Spain survey.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.