The aim of the study was to assess the age-specific, sex-specific, and region-specific average sodium and potassium intake and its association with anthropometric characteristics in a sample of the Italian adult hypertensive population.

Hypertension is the leading cause of death in developed countries and reduction of salt intake is recommended as a key preventive measure.

To study the characteristics of interleukin 6 (IL6), soluble form of interleukin 6 receptor (sILR)/IL6 complex in obese children and adolescents and its relationship with insulin resistance (IR).

Pediatric metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a well-recognized entity; however, there is no consensus on its exact value in predicting long-term cardiovascular (CV) risk. Hepatic steatosis (HS) is another emerging condition associated with pediatric obesity, and data have been reported suggesting a possible role of HS in CV risk linked to MetS. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of HS and MetS cluster in predicting CV risk linked to pediatric obesity.

No data are available on caffeine consumption among Italian adolescents. We investigated caffeine intake from coffee, soft drinks and energy drinks in a sample of Italian adolescents and determined if they exceeded the recommended limits.

To prospectively investigate the occurrence of postinfectious functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), diagnosed according to the Rome III criteria, in children with acute diarrhea of different infectious etiology.

Little is known about the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in children from the Mediterranean area of Europe. We aimed to assess the prevalence of FGIDs in children and adolescents in this region.

Liver abnormalities that normalize during infancy as well an enteropathy are reported in Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS). The pathogenesis of both conditions is unknown. We report two SDS cases with autoimmune-like (antismooth muscle and/or antinuclear antibody positivity) liver disease and antigliadin antibody positive inflammatory enteropathy. Hypertransaminasemia did not resolve after immunosuppressive therapy and/or a gluten-free diet. These transient autoimmune phenomena and gut-liver axis perturbations may have played a role in transient SDS hepatopathy and enteropathy. Our report may stimulate other studies to define the relationship between the SDS genetic defect and intestinal permeability as the pathogenic mechanism underlying SDS related liver and intestinal inflammation.