Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common autosomal recessive diseases. Factors contributing to disease exacerbations and survival rate of CF patients are type of mutation in the CFTR gene, poor nutritional status, lung failure, and infection development by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the severity of mutation, nutritional status, lung function, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa prevalence and survival rate in adult patients with cystic fibrosis. Methods: A study of 124 (68 ♀ and 56 ♂) adults with CF aged 18–51 years were evaluated for (a) type of mutation in the CFTR gene, (b) nutritional status (BMI), (c) lung function (FEV₁%), and (d) Pseudomonas aeruginosa prevalence. For statistical calculations, Kaplan-Meier analysis of survival, chi-squared test for multiple samples, and logistic regression were used. Results: The type of mutation (χ² = 12.73, df = 3, p = 0.005), FEV₁% (χ² = 15.20, df = 2, p = 0.0005), Pseudomonas aeruginosa prevalence (χ² = 11.48, df = 3, p = 0.009), and BMI (χ² = 31.08, df = 4, p < 0.000) significantly differentiated the probability of survival of patients with CF. The shortest life expectancy was observed in patients with a severe type of mutation on both alleles, FEV₁% < 40, subjects in whom Pseudomonas culture was extensively drug-resistant or pandrug-resistant, and patients whose BMI was lower than 18.5 kg/m². The period from 30 to 40 years of age was the most critical in CF adults’ lifespan. The risk of adults with CF death doubled with Pseudomonas aeruginosa prevalence (OR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.29; 2.28) and eightfold when the bacteria acquired antibiotic resistance (OR = 8.11, 95% CI 1.67; 38.15). Conclusions: All factors included in the study were significantly related to the survival rate of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Population studies indicate a strong relationship between birth weight (BW) and body size in later life. However, BW as a variable was never accounted for in studies on the relationship between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and overweight. This study aims to assess the relationship between ADHD and overweight with control of birth weight and other confounding factors. Prevalence of overweight was compared in clinical sample of 219 boys with ADHD and 396 boys without ADHD, aged 6–18 years. The following factors were controlled: BW, parents income and education level, place of residence, ADHD type, selected comorbid disorders and stimulant treatment. Overweight and obesity were diagnosed according to the criteria proposed by the International Obesity Task Force. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between ADHD and the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Boys with ADHD differed significantly from the control group in distribution of low BW (8.2 vs. 3.0 %, χ ² = 8.23, p = 0.02). Low BW was associated with a lower prevalence of overweight than normal and high BW (0 vs. 12.14 %, χ ² = 4.12, p = 0.04). Overweight was observed significantly more often in boys with ADHD (17.3 vs. 8.3 %, χ ² = 11.23, p < 0.001) even after adjustment for BW and other variables (OR = 2.44, 95 % CI 1.38–4.29, p = 0.002) and after controlling for ADHD type, stimulant treatment and selected comorbid disorders. Independently to applied analysis, obesity was not associated with ADHD. Lower birth weight is over twice more often observed in boys with ADHD than in control group. Although this phenomenon may reduce the rate of overweight in the studied group, ADHD remains strongly associated with increased prevalence of overweight.

Deviations of physical characteristics from bilateral symmetry, in otherwise symmetric individuals, are supposed to result from environmental perturbations during development. One cause of such perturbations may be sex steroids such as testosterone and oestrogen. The study examined the relationship between second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a putative negative correlate with prenatal testosterone and a positive correlate with prenatal oestrogen, and asymmetry. Eleven traits (including the second and fourth finger lengths) were measured in a sample of 680 English children aged 2-18 years, and second to fifth finger lengths in samples of 120 Austrian and English undergraduate students aged from 17 to 30 years and 213 Polish adults aged from 26 to 90 years. Significant U-shaped curvilinear associations between 2D:4D and all 11 traits were found in English children with the strongest associations between 2D:4D and composite asymmetry of second plus fourth digit, and second to fifth digits. Further investigation of the relation between 2D:4D and digit asymmetries in the sample of Austrian and English undergraduates and the Polish adults confirmed significant U-shaped relationships between 2D:4D and finger asymmetries. Our data show that both low 2D:4D (a marker of high prenatal testosterone) and high 2D:4D (a marker of high prenatal oestrogen) are associated with elevated levels of asymmetry and this relationship applies particularly to finger asymmetry.

Most children born small for gestational age (SGA) have rapid postnatal growth. Despite its positive aspects, catch-up growth may affect the level of adipose tissue in the pre-pubertal and pubertal periods and therefore affect the age of puberty. The aim of this study was to determine the associations between size at birth, catch-up growth in infancy, BMI in peripubertal period, age at menarche, and the parameters of adolescent growth spurt of body height in girls born SGA. For 297 girls (22.6% SGA; 77.4% appropriate for gestational age (AGA)) complete body weight and height measurements and age at menarche were obtained. Adolescent growth spurt parameters were estimated using the JPA2 model (AUXAL SSI 3.1). Calculations were made in the Statistica 13 program using the Kruskal-Wallis and Kaplan–Meier tests. Girls born SGA with catch-up had the highest BMIs at the age of 8 years (H = 94.22, p < 0.001) and at menarche (H = 58.21, p < 0.001), experienced menarche earliest (H = 21.77, p < 0.001), same as the onset (H = 6.54, p = 0.012) and peak height velocity (H = 11.71, p = 0.003) of their adolescent growth spurt compared to SGA girls without catch-up and AGA girls. In SGA girls, catch-up growth has far-reaching consequences such as increased risk of fat accumulation and a rapid transition to puberty.

Objective: Previous studies have associated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with growth deviations and obesity. However, available data regarding the growth of children with ADHD in their early childhood are insufficient. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether there are differences in body size between preschool boys with and without ADHD. Methods: The study used cross-sectional and retrospective longitudinal data concerning 112 boys with ADHD and a community-based sample of 308 boys without ADHD. The groups were homogeneous in terms of socioeconomic status, place of residence, term of birth, and birth weight. The average age of diagnosis was 8.3 years, and none of boys had been treated with stimulants before they were 7 years of age. Comparisons were made at the ages of 2, 4, and 6 years, for World Health Organization (WHO)-norm-standardized height, weight, body mass index (BMI), prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity. Separate analysis were made for the cross-sectional measurements of current body size. Results: Boys with ADHD at the age of 2 had significantly lower z scores for weight ( t =−1.98, p =0.04) and BMI ( t =−2.09, p =0.04), and at the age of 4 for weight ( t =−2.05, p =0.04) than the boys from the control group. A significantly lower percentage of overweight/obesity was observed in boys with ADHD at the age of 2 in comparison with the control group. At the age of 6, boys with ADHD were underweight more often. Cross-sectional analysis of current body size showed that boys with ADHD had lower z scores for height ( t =−3.08, p =0.002) and higher z scores ( t =3.13, p =0.002) for BMI. Overweight was more frequent in this group. Conclusions: Preschool boys with ADHD (age of 2–6 years) have a tendency toward lower body weight than their peers. But in subsequent phases of development, they are shorter and more frequently overweight than boys without ADHD, when place of residence, socioeconomic status, term of birth, birth weight, comorbid conditions, and treatment are controlled.