Paediatrics and Child Health

Child health is the foundation of adult health. The origins of many chronic diseases (e.g. obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer) lie in early life.

Key facts

• Rates of preterm birth are rising in Scotland and the rest of the UK
• Being born preterm is the commonest reason for a baby to be admitted to a special care baby unit
• Only 1 in 4 of babies born at 25 weeks gestation or less will survive without significant disability.
• Menstrual problems are the commonest reason for women to visit their GP

Many researchers, based at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital and within the University of Glasgow, are engaged in trying to understand the genetic-environmental interactions which underpin the physiology of normal and disordered growth and development, how they impact on health in infancy, childhood, pregnancy and adulthood, and to apply this knowledge to prevent, detect, and treat disease.

Key areas of active research which need your support

• The causes and consequences of the childhood obesity epidemic
• How the effects of a mother’s health and nutrition affect her foetus in the womb
• Ways in which we can reduce childhood accidents and injuries
• Breast-feeding is a major determinant of infant health and may even ‘programme’ growth, development and later health