ESPE Abstracts

Background: A fair number of epidemiological studies suggest that age at menarche (AAM) is associated with depression, but the reported effect sizes are small, and there is evidence of residual confounding. Moreover, previous Mendelian randomization (MR) studies to avoid inferential problems inherent to epidemiological studies have provided mixed findings.Methods: To clarify the causal relationship between age at menarch...

Background: There is high prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) as reported in literature. However, it is uncertain whether VDD is a cause or effect of HT. The effect L-thyroxine replacement on vitamin D levels in children with HT has not been studied.Objective and hypotheses: To study vitamin D level of newly diagnosed children with HT and to observe the change in vitamin D level after L-thyroxine therapy.<p c...

Background: Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is a catabolic state with altered energy balance and anorexia. Ghrelin is a peptide hormone, produced by neuro-endocrine cells in the stomach, which stimulates appetite, increases food intake and growth hormone release. Although many trials have shown short term efficacy of ghrelin to increase appetite in anorexic and cachectic patients, data on the children with PEM is scarce.Objective and hypotheses: The st...