Search

The aim of this paper was to investigate the association between birthweight and prevalence of food allergies using a national sample of US children. Adult report of birthweight and child food allergies were obtained for years 2005-2009 from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a cross-sectional household survey of the US population. A total of 51,748 children aged 0-17 years were included in the analyses representing over 73 million children. Multivariable logistic regression analyses examined associations between birthweight categories and food allergies stratified by age and gender; accounting for the complex design of NHIS. Children aged 6-12 years who were born very low birthweight (500-1,499 g) were more likely to have reported food allergy compared to referent (3,000-3,499 g),OR = 1.72; 95% CI: 1.02-2.91. However, there was no clear trend of an association between birthweight and food allergy with increasing or decreasing birthweight across all ages. Estimates were generally stronger in younger male children as compared to estimates in females of the same age group. Marginal associations for respiratory allergy (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.02-2.29) and hay fever (OR = 1.54; 95% CI: 0.93-2.54) were observed among very low birthweight children aged 0-5 years. There was limited evidence for a clear association between birthweight and food allergy. Marginal associations observed in children weighing 500-1,499 g at birth support efforts to minimize preterm births and very low birthweight given the increase in pediatric food allergies and the large number of children born low birthweight each year in the US. Keywords Food allergy * Birthweight * Children * Respiratory allergy * Hay fever, Introduction The significance of food allergy research has been increasing in the United States (US), particularly among pediatric populations. Recent national survey estimates report a prevalence of 3.9% of food [...]

Jejunal diverticulosis is a rare, acquired pathology of the small bowel. While most patients are asymptomatic, the condition is difficult to diagnose. It may present with chronic abdominal pain, diarrhoea, bloating and complications including malabsorption, diverticulitis, bleeding, intestinal obstruction or perforation. This is a case presentation of a 27-year-old woman with a history of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) requiring surgical resection as a premature newborn who presented with recurrent abdominal pain and was found to have several small bowel diverticula intraoperatively. She underwent resection with complete resolution of symptoms over a 2-year follow-up. This is the first case report to suggest that small bowel diverticular disease as a long-term complication of NEC may result in chronic morbidity in long-term survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]