Are children with obesity at school entry more likely to have a diagnosis of a musculoskeletal condition? Findings from a systematic review

• Published in: BMJ paediatrics open 2022-08, Vol.6 (1), p.e001528
• Main Authors: Firman, Nicola, Wilk, Marta, Harper, Gill, Dezateux, Carol
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Age groups; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Epidemiology; Female; Foot diseases; Health risks; Health services research; Health services utilization; Humans; Injuries; Intervention; Male; Medical diagnosis; Musculo-Skeletal; Musculoskeletal diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases - diagnosis; Obesity; Obesity - diagnosis; Overweight; Pediatrics; Quality of Life; Schools; Systematic review; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2399-9772; 2399-9772
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2022-001528

BackgroundChildren with obesity at school entry are at increased risk of persistent obesity throughout childhood and adulthood. Little is known about associations with adverse health outcomes with onset during childhood including those affecting the musculoskeletal system. We examined the association between obesity present at school entry and adverse musculoskeletal diagnoses with onset during childhood.MethodsWe searched three electronic databases to identify longitudinal studies published in English between January 2000 and June 2022 assessing associations between obesity measured at school entry (around age 5 years) and musculoskeletal diagnoses made before age 20 years. Two reviewers screened titles, abstracts and full-text using EPPI-Reviewer software. Bias and quality of eligible studies were appraised using The Quality Assessment tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional studies and findings synthesised.ResultsWe identified four eligible studies from 291 unique records, three conducted in Spain and one in Scotland. These studies reported on 1 232 895 children (available data: 51.4% boys; none reported ethnic distribution) with study sample sizes ranging from