title: Risk factors for obesity in childhood survivors of suprasellar brain tumours: a retrospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize postdiagnosis changes in body mass index (BMI) among childhood survivors of suprasellar brain tumours, and to determine the risk factors associated with obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective analysis of 46 children (16 boys and 30 girls) with median (IQR) age of 7.49 (3.47-11.59) years at tumour diagnosis, and followed up for 3.93 (1.68-7.27) years. Survival analyses were used to identify risks of developing obesity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no sex differences in age at tumour diagnosis, duration of follow-up, tumour types, endocrinopathies, treatment modalities or baseline BMI SDS. In the first year after tumour diagnosis, ΔBMI SDS (median; IQR) was greater in girls (1.32; 0.07-2.08) than in boys (0.48; -0.40 to 0.89) (p = 0.01). At diagnosis, 3/46 children (6%) were obese; this increased to 20/46 (43%) by last follow-up (p < 0.001) and was more common in girls (17/30; 57%) than in boys (3/16; 19%). Female gender (hazard ratio 5.0, 95% CI 1.2-21.7; p = 0.04) and greater than average baseline BMI (hazard ratio 4.7, 95% CI 1.1-20.8; p = 0.02) were risk factors for subsequent obesity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Accurate prediction of obesity risk is important and would allow early targeted intervention in high-risk patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Ngee
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lek
authors.forename: Philippa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Prentice
authors.forename: Rachel M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Ken K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Gladstone Austin Amos
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Carlo L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Acerini
mesh_terms: D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D017741:Survivors