The Indonesia Basic Health Research 2018 indicates that Indonesian children are still among the shortest in the world. When referred to World Health Organization Child Growth Standards (WHOCGS), the prevalence of stunting reaches up to 43% in several Indonesian districts. Indonesian National Growth Reference Charts (INGRC) were established in order to better distinguish between healthy short children and children with growth disorders. We analyzed height and weight measurements of healthy Indonesian children using INGRC and WHOCGS. 6972 boys and 5800 girls (n=12,772), aged 0-59 months old, from Bandung District were measured. Z-scores of length/height and body mass index were calculated based on INGRC and WHOCGS. Under 5-year-old Indonesian children raised in Bandung are short and slim. Mean height z-scores of boys is -2.03 [standard deviation (SD) 1.31], mean height z-scores of girls is -2.03 (SD 1.31) when referred to WHOCGS indicating that over 50% of these children are stunted. Bandung children are heterogeneous, with substantial subpopulations of tall children. Depending on the growth reference used, between 9% and 15% of them are wasted. Wasted children are on average half a SD taller than their peers. WHOCGS seriously overestimates the true prevalence of undernutrition in Indonesian children. The present investigation fails to support evidence of undernutrition at a prevalence similar to the over 50% prevalence of stunting (WHOCGS) versus 13.3% (INGRC). We suggest refraining from using WHOCGS, and instead applying INGRC that closely mirror height and weight increments in Bandung children. INGRC appear superior for practical and clinical purposes, such as detecting growth and developmental disorders.

To provide characteristics and hormonal profiles of secondary amenorrhea cases in adolescent patients treated at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in Bandung. The study was retrospective in nature and involved the analysis of medical records from 2017 to 2022 for 44 adolescent patients aged 10–18 who had secondary amenorrhea. There were 44 adolescents included in this study after excluded 69 adults from 113 secondary amenorrhea cases. The majority of patients were 14–17 years old (38.63%), in senior high school (45.45%), had started menarche at 11 years old (45.45%), had normal nutritional status (65.91%), and had normal stature (65.91%). The underlying diseases found in most patients were systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and tuberculosis. Among the patients, 29 had FSH, LH, and estradiol levels measured. The results of hormonal assays showed a wide range of abnormal serum levels, with normal to low concentrations of FSH and low levels of LH and estradiol. The median (interquartile range) results for FSH, LH, and estradiol were 4.57 (0.64, 90.65), 1.635 (0.06, 55.76), and 24.3 (0.2, 154.71), respectively. Positive significant correlation between FSH and LH (p < 0.01) was found in children with secondary amenorrhea. Hormonal assay for FSH, LH, and Estradiol showed a wide range of abnormal serum level. Normal to low concentration levels of FSH and low LH and estradiol. The majority of secondary amenorrhea patients are associated with autoimmune disease and infection.

Read about on Premenstrual Syndrome in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: The social, economic, political, and emotional (SEPE) environment plays a crucial role in shaping human development both pre- and post-birth, with direct and independent effects on growth, as research shows. Objectives: This study examines the growth of twins and singletons and their association with maternal education as one of the social-economic (SE) variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized Nutritional Status Monitoring for Children under 5 Years Old in Bandung District in September 2019. A total of 158 healthy children aged < 5 years, involving 35 twins (70 children) and 88 singletons, were included. Data on weight and length at birth and weight and length/height taken at age 8.6 to 60 months were plotted according to WHOCGS 2006. Statistical analyses and visualizations, including SE variables analysis, were conducted using density plots, correlation plots, St. Nicolas House Analysis (SNHA), and ANOVA. Results: At birth, z-scores of the body length, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of twins were lower than those of singletons (P < 0.05). After birth, z-scores of twins' length/height, weight, and BMI adjusted to those of singletons, with maternal education being the strongest among SE variables of early childhood growth adjustment. Conclusions: Twins were shorter, lighter, and had a lower average BMI at birth than singletons. There was no apparent association between birth measurements and SE variables. However, after birth, maternal education starts to gain a central position in regulating child growth.

Background Nephrotic syndrome causes loss of medium-sized plasma proteins and binding proteins, resulting in thyroid hormone deficiency. Objective To assess for potential correlations between subclinical hypothyroidism in pediatric nephrotic syndrome with albumin, globulin, and proteinuria. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java. All types of nephrotic syndrome patients aged 1 month to < 18 years were included. Blood and urine specimens were collected from the patients for albumin, globulin, thyroid function (T3, fT4 and TSH), and proteinuria tests and analyzed with standard techniques. Results There were 26 subjects, 20 males and 6 females. Ten subjects developed subclinical hypothyroidism, with mean albumin and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels of 0.92 g/dL and 6.9 mIU/L, respectively. There was a negative correlation between albumin level and subclinical hypothyroidism (r_pb=-0.702; P<0.001) and a positive correlation between proteinuria and subclinical hypothyroidism (r=0.573; P=0.003). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that globulin had no impact on the presence of subclinical hypothyroidism, but albumin and proteinuria did have such an impact. The odds ratios of albumin and proteinuria with subclinical hypothyroidism were 27.00 (95%CI 1.69 to 17.7) and 19.80 (95%CI 1.94 to 201.63), respectively. Conclusion Subclinical hypothyroidism correlates with serum albumin level and proteinuria in nephrotic syndrome patients. Tha low serum albumin level has a high likelihood of subclinical hypothyroidism.

Background: Child growth results from the interaction of genetic, endocrine, nutritional, and environmental factors. Short stature is defined as a height-for-age Z-score below −2 standard deviations, according to the WHO Child Growth Standards 2006. Linear bone growth occurs through endochondral ossification, which is influenced by insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), 25-hydroxyvitamin D [vitamin 25(OH) D], calcium (Ca), phosphorus (Ph), and magnesium (Mg). This study compared these biomarkers across growth phenotypes and examined their associations with short stature in children aged 24–59 months. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study used registry data and stored biological specimens (SBS) from 225 children aged 24–59 months residing in Bandung District, Indonesia (84 underweight children with short stature, 70 normal-weight children with short stature, and 71 children with normal weight and stature), collected between May and August 2021. SBS were preserved at -80 °C. Appropriate statistical tests, post-hoc analyses, and multivariable logistic regression were performed. Results: Significant differences in IGF-1, 25(OH)D, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium were observed across groups (all p < 0.05). Post-hoc analysis indicated that these differences were confined to comparisons between the underweight short stature group and the normal-weight normal stature group, with no significant differences involving the normal-weight short stature group. Multivariable analysis further showed that lower levels of IGF-1, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium were independently associated with short stature, with these associations largely attributable to the underweight subgroup, while remaining non-significant among children with normal-weight short stature. Conclusion: Lower levels of IGF-1, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium are associated with short stature in children aged 24–59 months, predominantly among those with concurrent undernutrition. In contrast, these associations were not evident in children with normal-weight short stature, underscoring the heterogeneous nature of short stature.