Research
Pediatric Obesity: A Growing Concern?
I presented on pediatric weight management at the CT-LEND meeting on April 6, 2018.
Graduate Research Presentation: Nutritional Deficiencies Secondary to ARFID in Autism Spectrum Conditions (Part Two)
I presented my research on ARFID at the CT-LEND meeting on February 2, 2018. (Part one of the presentation was a quick 10-minute overview, given the previous autumn.)
Graduate Research Project: Nutritional Deficiencies Secondary to ARFID in Autism Spectrum Conditions: A Systematic Review of Case Reports
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and is a “fairly frequent presenting feature of autism.” In order to qualify for a diagnosis of ARFID, the sufferer must persistently fail to meet nutritional or energy needs through the oral intake of food due to self-imposed dietary restrictions. A systematic review was conducted on Scopus to determine the nutrition-related illnesses which occurred in persons with comorbid ARFID and autism. The purpose of this research is to help answer who these severe manifestations of deficiency occur in, the nutrients that they are most likely to be deficient in, and to determine factors which could be used as preventative measures to arrest occurrence in the population going forward. This data also helps answer the question of how long a person can safely engage in extreme dietary restriction before physical damage occurs.
Results showed a total of 57 cases (ages 1.5-17) from 47 articles. The largest percentage of published cases (61.4%) involved scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency. Scurvy developed in as little as four weeks devoid of ascorbic acid. In 74.1% of the cases where a BMI percentile was provided, these children were within normal weight parameters. Practical applications include encouraging multivitamin use, extended breastfeeding, or formula for children at risk. The next step is the validation of a nutritional screener which can detect ARFID when the child is not failure to thrive. Funding provided by a grant to the UConn School of Medicine for Leadership Training in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Program.
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is an atypical condition of pregnancy affecting 0.8-2.3% of women, and is characterized by nausea that does not dissipate and vomiting that occurs several times per day, causing both dehydration and weight loss in the sufferer. It is currently unknown whether HG is the severe end of the spectrum of typical nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, or a completely different ailment. The reduction, alleviation, or eradication of hyperemesis gravidarum will help achieve Healthy People 2020 objectives across a wide variety of topics, including: maternal, infant and child health; early and middle childhood; health-related quality of life; cancer; nutrition and weight status; and mental health. Relationships between HG and Healthy People 2020 goals are identified, and an explorative overview of hyperemesis gravidarum has been conducted. This overview includes: theories of etiology, biomarkers, potential risk factors for development, short and long-term risks associated with the condition, limitations of the current research, as well as behavioral, pharmacological, and nutritional treatments of the condition. Future areas of research, including the potential search for genetic therapies, early invasive nutritional intervention for patients, and the development of an educational intervention for obstetric health care providers are discussed.
