University of California, USA
Title: Predictors of becoming overweight among pediatric patients at risk for urinary tract infection
Biography:
Hillary L. Copp is a pediatric urologist who treats abnormalities of the urinary tract and genitals, including urinary tract infections, disorders of sex development and spina bifida. She treats patients ranging from infants to teens. Copp uses multiple surgical techniques, including open, endoscopic, laparoscopic and robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery.
In children and adolescents underweight is a significant risk factor for infection especially in developing countries, probably reflecting malnutrition and poor hygienic standards. Data from industrialized countries suggest that infection rate is also increased in obese children and adolescents. Similarly, several studies suggest a U-shaped increased infection rate in both underweight and obese adults. In the latter, infections of the skin and respiratory tract as well as surgical-site infections have consistently been reported to be more common than in normal-weight participants. Paradoxically, mortality of critically ill patients was reduced in obesity in some studies.